


Coming Out

by footielover



Series: Leap into the Unknown [1]
Category: Football RPF
Genre: AU - no girlfriends or kids, Anal Sex, Blowjobs, Coming Out, M/M, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-18
Updated: 2016-06-18
Packaged: 2018-04-26 23:42:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 61,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5025280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/footielover/pseuds/footielover
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have been quietly dating for a few months. Then a paparazzo takes some rather intimate pictures of them and all hell breaks loose.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the bed, Leo Messi stirred lightly in his sleep and shifted closer to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a protective arm slung around his naked torso.

He held the master key card against the lock of the hotel room door. "Thank God for underpaid maids“, he muttered under his breath. The money would be the best 100€ he ever spent in his life if Cristiano Ronaldo really was celebrating his third Ballon d’Or win in there. The pictures would be worth thousands - if there were some girls in there with him maybe even more.

The door opened with a soft click and he instantly noticed that there was something wrong. He had expected to hear loud music, or at least some people talking, but it was eerily quiet. Well shit. 100€ for nothing. Ronaldo had obviously decided to party elsewhere. But still, it didn’t hurt to check the room, maybe he could find something else that was interesting for the spanish tabloid he was working for.

He stepped quietly into the suite and followed the hallway into what he supposed was the master bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, the light from the hallway illuminating the room, and when he got his first glance at the couple who was peacefully sleeping in the huge hotel bed, his breath stocked. I’m going to be a very rich man was the only thought on his mind as he starting taking pictures.

In the bed, Lionel Messi stirred lightly in his sleep and shifted closer to Cristiano Ronaldo, who had a protective arm slung around his naked torso.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo planned on taking Cristiano apart torturously slow. He really did deserve a reward - he had an amazing season, and even if losing to him stung a little, there honestly were worse things Leo could think of than sexually worshipping Cristiano Ronaldo.
> 
> Ooops, the rating is going up already - I just couldn't resist writing these boys together. I hope you enjoy!

It was early morning and the first light peaking through the curtains woke Cristiano from a restful sleep. He glanced down happily at the sleeping man next to him, moulding perfectly into his body, legs entwined with his and burrowing into his warmth. Leo maybe didn’t consciously want to be the little spoon, but in the end they always woke up like this. Napoleon complex, Cristiano just thought to himself and smirked. And besides - it really was more practical like this.

Knowing that Leo would probably sleep on for few hours, he started to gently extricate himself from the Argentines surprisingly strong grip, careful not to wake him. They had the whole day off after the gala yesterday, so he could easily do his daily gym routine now and spend the rest of the day with Leo when he woke. He sat at the edge of the bed, looking for his briefs which Leo had thrown unceremoniously on the floor yesterday, when warm arms slung around his waist.

“Leaving me all alone in a hotel room like one of your one night stands?“, Leo murmured sleepily in his ear. “And to think that I even planned on rewarding you with morning sex“, he said, nibbling on his ear before biting down sharply in his shoulder.

“Aaah“, Cristiano hissed at the slight pain in his shoulder. “Maybe I can be persuaded to delay my workout for a little… But better make it worth my while. I am the reigning Ballon d’Or winner after all“, he teased and turned around to kiss Leo slowly, all sour morning breath and lazy tongues. It was perfect.

Morning sex really was a rare occurrence in their relationship and one to be treasured greatly - Cristiano had always been an early riser, but God forbid you woke Leo before 10 AM. Still, when it happened it always felt different from their usual vigorous love making. Not less passionate, they never lacked that, Cristiano mused, but the feeling of being alone in the world and able to take their time made it even more intimate. One of them usually had to rush off in the morning, planes to catch, places to be, matches to win. So he planned to make the most of the precious time they had together now, embracing Leo tightly and moaning softly into his mouth.

Cristiano felt perfect in his arms, miles of tanned skin still warm from their shared body heat and lips moving in complete sync with his. He was so pliant in the morning, letting Leo take charge and control the pace. He suspected his high from the win yesterday also played its part. The Argentine was planning on enjoying every second of it, who knew when he got Cristiano like this again? This thought on his mind, he started kissing down the other man’s neck, Cristiano arching prettily towards his mouth. In a perfectly executed move he pushed him on his back, settling firmly on his muscular thighs and holding him down with his hands on the strikers broad shoulders.

  
“So what am I going to do to you?“, Leo murmured as if he was talking to himself, eyeing Cristiano’s rapidly growing erection. They had been to tired from the gala and pretending in front of the press, and thinking about it, the whole world, to do much more as exchange sloppy handjobs last night, so Leo planned on taking Cristiano apart torturously slow. He really did deserve a reward - he had an amazing season, and even if losing to him stung a little, there honestly were worse things Leo could think of than sexually worshipping Cristiano Ronaldo. Really, it was such a hardship to make love to that body, he thought wryly, admiring the beautiful man beneath him. He’d gladly lose every single Ballon d’Or in the future if it meant waking up to this sight for the rest of his life. But Cristiano didn’t need to know that just yet. They had only been dating since after last years World Cup and he didn’t want to scare the other man away. But that didn’t matter now, he pushed the thoughts from his mind. He had a task ahead.

One of his hands slowly wandered down Cristiano’s chest, circling his nipple teasingly, before bending down to give it a sharp suck. The other man bucked, but Leo’s left hand was holding him firmly in place. He continued sucking softly, then bit down hard enough to leave a mark, before the other bud got the same treatment, Cristiano already a writhing mess beneath him. “God, I love how sensitive you are. You know how much it turns me on seeing you like this?“, Leo said in a husky voice, palming his own cock to relieve some tension.

He planned to drag this out as long as possible, but seeing Cristiano like this really didn’t make it easy. But today wasn’t about him, he reasoned, so his mouth continued its path downwards, mouthing at those delicious abs, the prominent hip bones before finally spreading Cristiano legs and settling between them. Cristiano was staring down at him, eyes blown wide with desire but otherwise surprisingly quiet. But when Leo’s mouth didn’t engulf his aching cock as he had obviously expected, instead just teasingly sucking on his inner thighs, leaving pinkish marks in his wake and soothing them with his tongue, the older man had apparently reached his limit.

“Leeeo“, he whined, trying to not so subtly pull the other man towards his crotch, “don’t be a fucking tease“. “Oh no, now don’t you get bossy with me, or there will be no reward“, he taunted him, still mouthing at the surprisingly delicate skin of those powerful thighs as if he had all the time in the world. He heard some portuguese curse words muttered in response, but Cristiano’s hands stopped pulling his hair, instead starting to stroke down his back. He knew better than to fight Leo on this - if Leo had set his mind on something he was going to achieve it, no matter what. A great quality of his on the pitch, and if you asked Cristiano, probably an even better one in bed. And today the mission wasn’t to score or to assist, but simply to make Cristiano come as hard as possible. So as always, Leo set on accomplishing the task ahead at full force, now mouthing at Cristiano’s already heavy balls, before his tongue started to circle at the hidden opening beneath them. “Ah fuck, Leo!“, Cristiano yelled, body straining under Leo’s firm grip, pushing into that clever tongue.

“We’ll come to that later“, Leo just murmured before finally taking pity on the other man and wrapping his lips around his leaking, rigid length, wasting no time and sucking strongly, enjoying the taste and weight of Cristiano on his tongue. He took him as deep as he could, choking a little as Cristiano’s cock hit the back of his throat, but those moans were all worth it. Encouraged, he put his hands on Cristiano’s hips, signaling him to take what he wanted. The other man didn’t need much prompting, fucking Leo’s mouth and praising him in quiet portuguese.

But suddenly, he felt strong hands pulled him off Cristiano’s cock. “My turn“, Cristiano muttered, voice heaving, simply pushing Leo on his back and swallowing him down in one go. Leo would have protested, that this wasn’t about him, that this was for Cristiano, but those lips felt so perfect around him, so fucking wet and warm that the words died down in his throat, making way for a hearty groan. Besides, his boyfriend could only stay passive for so long, he should have expected this. Cristiano looking up at him like this, mouth bobbing smoothly down his length, tongue caressing the tip, had featured in many of Leo’s fantasies before they actually came reality - and no matter how good Leo had imagined it to be, it always felt even better. Almost too good actually, he thought, replicating Cristiano’s move from earlier after some minutes, until he was grinning down at the other man again.

“Enough. You don’t want me to come before I’ve fucked you, right?“, he said before leaning down to quickly taste himself on Cristiano’s tongue.

“Then get on it, or I’ll find someone else to do it for you“, the Portuguese said playfully after they broke apart, both out of breath, chests heaving. Leo only bit his neck in response, grabbing the lube he had deposited on the nightstand yesterday, he slicked up his fingers, wasting no time to push the first one into Cristiano. The older man accepted the intrusion willingly, body completely relaxed and watching Leo with half hooded eyes, which only closed as Leo found his prostate and brushed it lightly, pushing his finger in and out rhythmically.

“Another one Leo, come on, want you inside me so bad“, Cristiano panted, body writhing on the sheets. Leo gladly obliged, adding first one, then two more fingers and began scissoring them, opening Cristiano as fast as possible. When Leo was convinced that Cristiano was prepared enough and both of them couldn’t have waited any longer anyway, he pulled his fingers out and lubed up his cock. “Ready?“ he asked, Cristiano only huffing impatiently, and pushed in in one steady thrust, both of them groaning out loud at the feeling of finally being joined.

Giving Cristiano some time to adjust, and himself to calm down to avoid coming instantly, he caressed the other man’s sides before feeling Cristiano relax around him. He started to thrust slowly, changing angles before he knew at Cristiano’s gasp he had found the spot he was looking for. Building a rhythm, he pulled his lover even closer to him, Cristiano’s cock rubbing between their bellies, leaking profusely. 

“God, nobody has ever felt better than you, baby, you know that right? So fucking perfect, so sensitive. It’s like you were made to take my cock.“, Leo heard himself say. He didn’t care how cliché that sounded, right now he felt it was the absolute truth. Cristiano didn’t seem to mind though, arching towards him for a kiss that he gave gladly.

Nibbling on the other man’s lower lip, he increased his pace, now hitting Cristiano’s prostate with every stroke, earning increasingly desperate moans. Knowing they both wouldn’t last much longer with the extended foreplay prior, he stopped Cristiano’s hand which was sneaking towards his cock, pinning it down on the bed with his own: “Are you close baby? Do you want to come?“ Cristiano only glowered darkly at him in response. “Then you’ll come from my cock, or not at all. You understand me?“, he said in a soft, yet somehow commanding voice. “I asked you something, Cristiano.“ “Yes, fuck, I understand“, he panted, “but please let me come, Leo. Please. I want your come inside me, flooding me, marking me as yours“.

Cristiano knew too well how to push Leo’s buttons. But who could have resisted that, Leo thought, fighting not to come on the spot. “Well, I wouldn’t want to disappoint you“, he answered, spreading Cristiano’s legs even wider, allowing him to go deeper than before, now pounding into the older man mercilessly. He could feel Cristiano getting even tighter around him, and determined not too climax before the other man did, he pushed one thick finger inside him alongside his cock, pressing hard against his prostate. “Come for me, Cristiano“, he ordered, before leaning down to bite down at Cristiano’s already bruised nipple. The other man obeyed, spilling all over his and Leo’s chest and belly with loud moans, squeezing tightly around Leo. Two, three more thrusts were all it took - the Argentine buried himself as deep as possible and finally let go.

When he came back to himself, still panting heavily, he felt Cristiano stroking down his side, pressing absent-minded kisses against his neck. “Mhh, that’s what I call a reward, querido“, he whispered in his ear, embracing Leo so tightly as if he never wanted him to leave his body again, instead staying together like this forever. When Leo finally did pull out reluctantly, Cristiano let out a sound that was half discomfort, half disappointment. Leo kissed the marks that were blooming on his inner thighs soothingly, admiring his come leaking out of that abused hole.

His cock twitched at the sight, but round 2 would have to wait until later. “Sleep some more“, he said with a last kiss to those strong legs, “I’ll clean us up ok?“ Cristiano only nodded and offered his lips for a sleepy kiss that Leo gave him gladly before settling under the covers, eyes already closing.

Leo cleaned them up perfunctorily with the pair of briefs Cristiano never got to putting on earlier, throwing them in the direction of the bin. The older man owned thousands of them, it was his own collection after all, and he surely wouldn’t miss this pair. He cast a look on his phone laying on the nightstand, blinking with a missed call, but decided to check it later. What could be so important on a Tuesday morning that it couldn’t wait? He shifted closer to Cristiano, who was already snoring softly - not that he would ever admit that, snoring was beneath CR7 - and wrapped his left arm around him, legs tangling with his. He totally could be the big spoon, was the last thought on his mind before he contently drifted into sleep once more.

No more than ten minutes later, the insistent ringing of the hotel phone woke them abruptly. “Did you really tell the hotel to wake you at 8.30 in the morning? I can’t believe you“, Leo groaned into his pillow.

“No, I didn’t“, Cristiano answered indignantly, rolling away from Leo and picking up the phone on his nightstand with a frown. “It has to be something urgent if someone is calling this early. Hello? Oh it’s you Jorge. What’s going on?“

Jorge Mendes had been Cristiano’s agent for years and probably wanted to talk some shiny new Nike campaign focussed on his freshly acquired third Ballon d’Or. Leo planned on sleeping through the conversation and burrowed deeper into the covers, missing his boyfriends warmth.

“What do you mean with private pictures?“ Suddenly, Leo felt much more awake. “Why can’t I look at them now right with you on the phone? Yes, ok, I will call you back. Yes, I promise“, he said, hanging up the phone. “What is it, baby?“, Leo asked him urgently. He already had a bad feeling - that Jorge told Cristiano to call him back couldn’t mean anything good.

“He said… He said there are some pictures I should see. He sent them to me and told me to take a moment before calling back and not to read or look at anything else. This has to be bad“, Cristiano echoed Leo’s thoughts out loud.

“Well, let’s look at them first. How bad can it be? We were always careful, so this can’t be about us. Maybe it’s Marcelo strutting around naked in your garden while you’re away or something“, Leo said assuringly, half joking, half being serious, as Cristiano opened his emails. You really never knew with the Brazilian.

They both looked at the phone screen as the first picture was loading. On the first glance, Leo just saw a couple sleeping in a darkened room, holding on tightly to each other - the picture was a bit blurry. But unfortunately, not blurry enough, he thought as the realization hit him.

“Merda“, Cristiano whispered weakly next to him. “We’re fucked.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for ending on a light cliffhanger, but the next chapter will continue right where we left of and is mostly planned out already. I hope you liked it - writing sex scenes is HARD (pun intended), and I hope I did moderately well for my first attempt. Comments and suggestions are welcome as always! Thank you so much for reading :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He hated seeing Cristiano like this. His proud, larger than life, confident Cristiano who could usually deal with everything you threw at him. He hated how some stranger had taken a decision from them that should have been theirs - and one that hadn’t even been on the able, that they hadn’t discussed before, not really anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is brought to you by Adele and her beautiful new song "Hello", which I listened to nonstop while writing this.

“That.. but that’s impossible! How did someone even get a picture like this?“, Leo stuttered, wrenching the phone from Cristiano’s grip and zooming in on their sleeping forms. “Cris.. that’s our room here in Zurich! They must have taken it yesterday!“

That seemed to spur the other man into action, throwing the covers of as if to search if the intruder was still there, but Leo gripped his arm quickly.

“They are long gone, cariño. And besides, what do you want to do? Search the whole hotel like this?“, he said, pointing at Cristiano’s naked form, body littered with little bruises, dried come sticky on his thighs.

“Do you really think this is the time for jokes? I can’t believe you“, the older man yelled, getting out of Leo’s grip and beginning to frantically pull clothes out of his suitcase next to the bed, until he finally found some a pair of briefs to pull on. He threw some to Leo as well.

“You will wear them, I can’t have this conversation with you and Jorge when you’re still naked“, was Cristiano’s hissing response to the Argentines’ skeptical look at the CR7 underwear in his lap. Leo had refused to wear something from Cris’ underwear collection for months now, but figured this really wasn’t the time to argue and quickly pulled the pair on.

Leo watched Cris pacing in front of the bed for a moment, trying to stop his own frantic thoughts. How on earth had someone taken pictures like this? Had someone of the few people who knew about his and Cris’ relationship betrayed them? How will the clubs react? Will the fans still accept them? And, good Lord, what will his abuelasay? Him in bed with a man will bad enough for his very religious family, but with Cristiano Ronaldo of all people? His (in their eyes) archenemy? He could already picture it clearly: “Lionel Andres Messi! I didn’t raise you to be a.. a sodomite! And then with a Madridista! I’ve always been saying that Francesc and the tall one were a bad influence on you! Always touching and hugging each other! Boys shouldn’t do that!“

And he didn't even want to think about his father. Leo shook his head at himself - envisioning every single possible scenario that could happen was nonsensical. Shit had already hit the fan, now it was all about handling the aftermath as well as possible - worrying could come later. Besides, his abuela was the least of his problems right now. He took a deep breath and stood up, stopping Cristiano’s pacing by grabbing him at the waist. The other man stilled, but didn’t look down at him.

“Cris. Look at me. Please.“

Dark brown eyes slowly met his own. What he saw in them pretty much mirrored his own emotions: Confusion. Helplessness. Fear. Anger. But most of all helplessness: The cat was out of the bag. By now, the whole world must know about them and nothing they could do would ever change that. There was no going back. And he hated it. He hated seeing Cristiano like this. His proud, larger than life, confident Cristiano who could usually deal with everything you threw at him. He hated how some stranger had taken a decision from them that should have been theirs - and one that hadn’t even been on the able, that they hadn’t discussed before, not really anyway.

“What do we do now, Leo? This is.. this could end us both.“

“I don’t know, cariño“, the endearment slipping out again, “I don’t know. But what I do know is that we pay people who are very good at their job very much money to deal with the press for us, so let’s call Jorge back first. I’ll try to reach Pepe after, I’m surprised he hasn’t called 10 times already.“

Cristiano nodded in approval and Leo started to turn away to pick up the phone, but the other man’s quiet, hesitant voice stopped him: “Leo? Can you.. I just…“ - but he didn’t even need to finish the sentence - Leo felt the exact same way. I just need to know I’m not alone in this. I just need the affirmation that we’re in this together. I just need you to show me that everything won’t fall apart. And so he only spread his arms to welcome the other man in them, holding on tight and pouring all his love into the embrace.

They separated after what felt like hours, but in reality were probably just a few minutes before Cristiano at last dialed Jorge’s number. The surprise was imminent when not one, but two people answered the call.

“Pepe, is that you?“ Leo asked incredulously. Pepe Costa was Leo’s main man at Barca - and one of his closest friends.

“Of course it’s me, stupido. Jorge called me right after he heard about the pictures. We’ve been in contact for a while actually.“

Cristiano and Leo exchanged unbelieving looks at that. “But we didn’t tell any of you about us!“, the Portuguese exclaimed.

“And that was crazily stupid and reckless of you“, Jorge interrupted him. “But thankfully you have great friends who look out for you and told us!“

Leo’s “Damn Geri!“ was muttered at the same time as Cristiano’s angry: “Fucking Marcelo!“

“Seriously, what did you guys think when you excluded us like this? Didn’t you realise how risky that was? And that you can trust us?“, Pepe added in a tone that signaled Leo quite clearly how disappointed the other man was in him.

“You need to understand us. We kept it to ourselves because it is private and doesn’t concern business, or at least it shouldn’t. We knew how you would react if we told you, you would have declared us both crazy!“

“It had nothing to do with us not trusting you, you have to believe us with that. But it was already overwhelming for us to be together in the first place and if you would have known everything would have become complicated too fast.“

Leo nodded silently. This was something they had discussed and fully agreed on. They had to know if they even worked as a couple first, as a team, just Cristiano and Leo, the people, not the world famous footballers. If they had told their respective PR teams from the beginning, they would have never had a shot: Everybody would have tried to talk them out of it. And for good reason, they knew: Them being together was frankly ridiculous for various reasons. Not only were they the two most famous footballers on the planet, but they were seen as bitter rivals in the eyes of the public and played for clubs which famously hated each other. Then adding that they were complete opposites in almost every regard: Leo being slender, short and pale in comparison to Cristiano’s tall, muscular and tan figure. Where Cristiano was loud and confident, Leo was quiet and shy - or at least he was perceived that way.

But they both felt that there was something there, something they didn’t want to give up before it had even started. And so they had kept it secret - pretty much at least. Geri and Marcelo both were too close to him and Cristiano, always traveling with them or spending time at their houses to not notice after some time, but they were surprisingly supportive. Maybe they knew how hard it was for them to find something genuine. They had planned to tell Jorge and Pepe if they made it to the six month mark, which by now was about 6 weeks away. Kind of pragmatic, but they were both in the business for to long to hope to be able to conceal it any longer. Not that it mattered now, anyway, Leo thought wryly.

“Well, none of that matters now", Pepe echoed his thoughts. "Jorge and I always had to envisage the possibility that someone might out you, or even that you did it yourselves by accident. That’s one of the reasons I got in touch with him in the first place actually. We wouldn’t do our job right if we hadn’t thought about this scenario before, sad as it might be that we have to address it at all.“

“So what is your great emergency plan then?“ Cristiano, asked.

“And how come my phone hasn’t exploded yet?“, Leo added. “These must already be all over the internet already.“

He shuddered at the thought. He valued his private life greatly and imagining that literally everybody was now able to see him and Cristiano in such a private moment made his skin crawl.

“They aren’t actually“, Jorge interrupted his increasingly desperate thoughts. “A friend at _Marca_ has given me a heads up. They are running the story at noon“.

“At noon? Why not right now? Where’s the catch?“, Cristiano questioned warily, not even bothering to ask if there way any way to convince them to not publish the pictures. He knew the answer already.

Pepe jumped back into the conversation: “Apparently, they got them too late to print them in today’s edition. And that’s our luck, because they are giving you the opportunity to react. They will publish anything you want to say about the pictures, your relationship and so on. This at least gives us some ability to do damage control and influence the public reaction.“

“Our luck? We should sue them, not give them relationship intel!“, Leo said angrily.

“Why didn’t the photographer just blackmail us?“ Cristiano groaned, hands on his eyes and ignoring Leo completely. “That would have been so much easier. We would have given him the money and that would have been it!“ He could practically hear Jorge shake his head on the other end of the line.

“You may think that now, but he would’ve probably taken your money and sold the pictures after anyway. It’s too big a scoop to give it up“.

Leo nodded: “I agree. Better have it all out now than never being sure if they would come out anyway.“

Pepe cuts in impatiently: “All of this is beside the point now. The question is, what do we do? Or more accurately, what do you two want to do? Because as we see it you only have one real option right now. Of course you could say absolutely nothing or say it was a complete one-off - let everybody think what they want to think and try to carry on as you did before. But let’s be honest, that would never work. If someone would have talked and outed you like this, then maybe - but the pictures change everything. Nobody who has seen this will doubt that you are in a relationship, and nobody will ever forget the picture of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, lying half naked in bed together.“

Jorge goes on: “So you have to come out - in every sense of the word. You come out as gay, and as a couple. We have a prepared statement for _Marca_ , nothing overly private but just confirming the relationship, when you got together, that you ask everybody to give you some privacy etc., etc.. You will go away to one of my houses in the middle of nowhere in Portugal and keep quiet for a few weeks. And in that time we’ll deal with the clubs, Nike, adidas and the whole lot. Alright?“

Cristiano and Leo locked eyes, but neither knew what to say to this.

“We know it’s a lot to take in at the moment, but we have thought about this for some and we really feel this is the only way if you want to stay together and keep your careers“, Pepe added.

“I don’t care. I say we say absolutely nothing. This is our relationship, our life, this is private. Fuck them“, Leo said fiercely into the silence, taking Cristiano’s hand in his.

The other man looked up from where he had been staring at his hands and apparently found what he searched for in Leo’s eyes.

“We will call you two back.“

“But Cristiano!“, he got cut off immediately.

“No, Jorge. This is about Leo and myself, and nobody else. And we need some time to talk this through. We will call you back when we’ve decided“, he said and ended the call abruptly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been one hell of a chapter to write and I really hope I made this as realistic as possible. I know that Leo's father handles most of his business, but I thought Pepe was a better choice for obvious reasons. The families will come in at a later point though.
> 
> The next chapter will be from Cristiano's POV, but it might take me a bit longer to update as I'm flying to London this weekend (yay!). Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. Comments and suggestions are welcomed with open arms, as always :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “So have you decided?“

The room was silent for a minute, both men needing some time to collect their thoughts, before Leo spoke first: “You know my opinion. And if even if we say something, what will that change? People will see the picture and that’s all that’ll interest them.“

He moved on to say something else, but Cristiano interrupted him: “But what about controlling the narrative? They can write God knows what about the pictures - that it was a drunken one night stand, that I claimed you as my prize for winning the Ballon d’Or or even that we’ve been engaged for half a year and plan to marry soon. They can say ANYTHING they want if we don’t give them something, you of all people know this! At least this way, we know that some truth will end up in the newspapers instead of 100% bullshit!“

Leo couldn’t help to acknowledge that Cristiano had a point. “But to give Marca something after what they did to us? That photographer was in this room, taking pictures from this door“, he said angrily, pointing to it opposite the bed they still sat on. “He broke into our private hotel room and stood there, watched us sleep and didn’t hesitate to take pictures to sell to the highest bidder! And now we talk to them so they can make even more money with our private life?“

“Do you think I like this more than you do? But we have to be smart and put our personal feelings aside when we’re dealing with the press - just like we do at any other time. So let’s compromise, ok? Jorge can put a statement together that confirms that we are in a committed relationship and have been for some time - no need to go into details, but at least that will nip that kind of speculation in the bud“, the older man stated.

“But we’ll send it to everybody - not just Marca, ok? No need to give them an exclusive when they have the pictures anyway“, Leo said, sounding resigned but not unhappy with the solution they found. The Portuguese nodded his approval.

“And we’ll sue the paparazzo, alright? I want to see that dick behind bars just the same as you do. If I get my hand on him before that, even better“, Cristiano muttered darkly. He grew up on the streets of Funchal and knew how to throw a punch. Some pretty satisfying violent fantasies went through his head before his mind went on to other, more important matters: “What about going away? I can’t see why we shouldn’t return. Everybody will know in a few hours anyway. What a difference will waiting a week before going home make?“, Cristiano pleaded. With all they would be facing, he wanted to do so at home, in a familiar, secure environment. And of course, if it was up to Cristiano, Leo would return to Madrid with him.

“In my mind, it will make a difference. Let people get used to the idea of us being together a little first, you know? And also it’s better for us - the media will be vicious, best to get away from them and have some peace and quiet before the chaos that everything will be when we return“, the younger man answered him, voice understanding but also firm.

“I don’t think you give people enough credit. What do you think they will do? Spit on us or spray faggots on our houses and cars? It’s 2015 for Gods sake“, Cristiano shook his head. He didn’t really believe what he was saying, knowing it would be better to get away, but he clung to the idea of going home.

"Cariño, for us, knowing so many players who are gay, I think it’s sometimes easy to forget how much homophobia is still out there - especially in football. There are very good reasons why nobody comes out, aside from the consequences with sponsors or the club. The average, beer-drinking working class guy will certainly have a problem with us ‘taking it up the ass’. And the pictures make it real, you know. Us sleeping together, lying there obviously naked with all the clothes on the floor. It will take some time until this isn’t the first thing that will come to people's minds when they see us. So how about we let everybody calm down a bit, and stay in Portugal for a few days?“, Leo proposed again, eyes never leaving Cristiano’s.

“Alright. It’s probably better to have some distance between us and the Spanish media anyway. But I still hate the thought of hiding, like we’re ashamed of being together“, he responded, sighing. Leo’s point were too solid to oppose to any longer. Better to give in now than getting into a completely unnecessary fight.

“You think I don’t?“, Leo asked, eyes burning fiercely. “From the first moment on, I wanted everybody to know that you’re mine, only mine, and that you belong to me as I belong to you“, he said, his fingers caressing the bruises on Cristiano’s throat. Cristiano didn’t think he even noticed he was doing it. It hurt a bit, to be honest, but it was a good pain. It grounded him and calmed him somehow.

He had a lump in his throat, and words left him at that sudden declaration, so he just leaned forward and caught Leo’s lips in a gentle kiss, hands entwining. “Yours“, he whispered against the other man’s lips when they finally parted, reluctant to separate and face the real world.

“Then everything is settled?“, Leo asked. Cristiano only tightened his grip on his hand in response. “Good, then let’s call them back before they have a heart attack.“

\---------

Jorge picked up the phone at the first ring. “So have you decided?“, he asked, not wasting time on any formalities.

“Is Pepe also there? I don’t want to explain everything twice“, Leo said.

“Yes, I put him on conference call, like before. So?“

The two man exchanged one last look, then Cristiano begun to speak: “We won’t say anything to Marca or anybody else. And yes, we are aware of all the arguments you’ll bring up, how it’ll make everything worse and so on, but it’s our decision - Leo’s and mine. And it’s final“, his tone leaving no room for discussions.

“You can confirm the relationship and the duration of it, because we have nothing to hide or to be ashamed of. But that’s it for now. No interviews, no quotes, no pictures“, Leo added.

“Well I can’t say I’m surprised“, Pepe said, sounding more resigned than angry. “You two stubborn bastards really belong to each other. But it will be messy, I can promise you that. No pun intended“. Leo couldn’t really muster up a laugh, Cristiano next to him on the bed only shook his head.

“Ok then. It’s your decision, but the media will hound you until they get what they want - which is anything on your relationship whatsoever, but of course pictures of you together most of all. So it’s especially important if you've thought about where you want to go now? I still don’t think it’s wise to want to return to your clubs immediately. The media will find you easily in your hometowns, everybody knows where you live, where you go to dinner, so it will be best to fly under the radar for a while. Besides, nobody knows how the fans will react - and you both have some very conservative people high up that you might want to give some time to get used to the idea “, Jorge told them, sounding like he revised the argument three times in his head.

“Oh please. Perez can go fuck himself,“ Cristiano answered to Leo’s extreme delight, judging the massive grin he unsuccessfully tried to hide. “We all know that Leo and I are too important to the clubs in the long term - both on the pitch and off. We score the goals, win the trophies and bring in press and money.“

“That might have been true to this point, but you forget that it isn’t just the fact that you’re both in a relationship with a man. It would be hard to handle as well, of course, but the fact that you’re a Culé and a Madridista will be seen as a huge betrayal from a lot of people,“ Pepe reminded them. 

“No, we both know you’re right. Cris was just making a point. We will take you up on your offer, Jorge, but we will only stay for a few days, a week at most, until everything has calmed down a bit. Then we’ll return - we won’t miss two matches in a row and being absent for too long would send the wrong message anyway.“

“And we want to sue him. The photographer“, Cristiano stated matter of factly.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea boys“, Jorge immediately responded. “You will only spur on the press even more. Everybody will write about it and you’ll never get out of the headlines like this.“

“Well then find another way to get him! He broke in our hotel room in the middle of the night and took pictures of us sleeping, for fucks sake! We can’t be the first one he did something like this to - find someone and support them with a lawsuit or something like that“, Leo vented, Cristiano next to him nodding fervently.

“And if you don’t, we will sue him directly. We don’t care about the press. We need to draw the line somewhere, something like this just can’t happen again.“

“Yes, next time they’ll take actual photographs of us having sex or something. We were lucky that bastard didn’t come earlier to think of it“, Leo mutters angrily to Jorge’s and Pepe’s extreme discomfort.

“Well, at least I’m pretty sure that they would finally stop calling you little, querido“, Cristiano chuckled. Leo blushed deeply at that, to Cristiano’s delight. He knew from experience that the other man blushed everywhere - something he found endearing and arousing at the same time.

But Jorge’s voice ripped him out of his thoughts: “For Gods sake and the sake of our sanity, please keep the innuendo to a minimum here! We have enough to worry about, and I don’t need a picture of you having sex in my mind to scar me forever on top of it!“

Leo and Cristiano shared a grin. “Don’t worry, the world will surely make our sex life a big enough topic anyway. No need for us to talk about it in any capacity in our private life“, Cristiano teased, before the truth of his words really sunk in.

Good god, he could see the headlines before his inner eye already: _“Is Cristiano Ronaldo Lionel Messi’s little bitch in bed?“_ The papers would be vicious, he just knew it. Little did he know that the same thoughts were going through Leo’s head. Many people, well most of them actually, didn’t consider Cristiano to be a private person at all, Leo being perceived as the humble, shy and notoriously private one. But that didn’t quite match reality. Yes, Cristiano liked sharing certain things with people from his life, as well as promoting his clothing and shoe lines and much more, and he appreciated social media because it gave him the opportunity for it. People thought he was very open, what with the 5 Instagram pictures he posted everyday. But in his mind, how private was it really to show people what he was eating or how the training session had been? Besides, he didn’t really talk about his private life or his relationships with the media - he had talked about his past and his family, yes, but he was extremely careful about what he was sharing and how it would come across. He had learned his lesson and had a very thick skin by now - the British papers had taught him well.

“Anyway boys“, Jorge interrupted his musings, “I’ll arrange for security and a flight to Portugal now and then Pepe and I will deal with the clubs and the sponsors. It’ll be better when they don’t learn about you two in the paper. So pack up your things, you’ll be leaving soon.“

“And, for Gods sake, please don’t read the papers or go online to read what they will write. It won’t do anything good, alright? Also no contact to anybody - to your closest family members at most, but nobody else. You never know who you can trust when there is so much money to make“, Pepe reminded them vigorously.

“I’ll ring when I have everything arranged for you. And for what’s it worth: It might not be the best decision for your image, but for two people in a relationship they want to protect it was the right one“, Jorge said, ending the call before they could even thank both of them for their help.

“Then let’s pack, querido. No time to waste“, Cristiano said, leaning into Leo’s space for a kiss. They would always have the time for a kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo - how did you like it? Do you think they found a good compromise? Let me know, I'm dying to know people's opinions!
> 
> And I'm sorry it took me so long to update, but life and London happened :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi can confirm that they have been in relationship for the last 5 months."
> 
> Just a short interlude. Enjoy!

**THE TIMES - MESSI AND RONALDO INVOLVED IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP**

 

**_London, 13 January 2015 - The football world has been shaken to the core with the news that hit this lunchtime: According to an intimate photograph that Spanish newspaper Marca claims was taken yesterday night in a hotel room in Zurich after the FIFA Ballon d’Or Gala, the world’s two most famous footballers Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are involved in a romantic relationship._ **

_The news come as a complete surprise, as the Argentine and the Portuguese, playing for FC Barcelona and Real Madrid respectively, were not only thought of as heterosexual before, appearing with women at public events, but were also perceived as bitter rivals up to this point. Not only have their clubs been passionate enemies in Spanish la Liga for decades, but Ronaldo and Messi have been battling each other for the crown of the best player in the world for the past seven years, in which nobody else has been awarded the FIFA Ballon d’Or for the best player of the year but the two strikers. The pair was often reported to have a strained relationship on as well as off the pitch, even though Messi and Ronaldo have said many times that their alleged rivalry is a product of the media and they were actually not in competition with each other. Not many have believed this to be true until now, but in a statement issued through their agencies, the two players confirm their relationship, but refuse to offer any further information but its duration:_

**“Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi can confirm that they have been in relationship for the last 5 months. They kindly ask the media to respect their privacy and would like to emphasize that the pictures published by Marca today were taken in an absolutely private setting without their consent."**

_(Ed.: Due to the private nature of the pictures, the Times chose not to publish them)_

_Nothing comparable to this has ever happened in professional sports: Even though many accomplished athletes have come out in the past years, for example British Olympic bronze medalist Tom Daley, no one as famous as Ronaldo and Messi, widely regarded as the two best football players in the world and definitely known everywhere across the globe, has ever been outed as gay before, and on top of it involuntarily by the media. **"Messi and Ronaldo"** has been the number one trending topic on Twitter for the past hours and every news outlet is covering the story extensively, firing up a not known before media frenzy. _

_Their had been speculation about both their sexualities in the tabloids for years, especially concerning the Real Madrid forward, but neither Messi nor Ronaldo ever responded to it until now, opting to stay silent on the issue. The consequences of their forced outing are unclear, as both Real Madrid and Barcelona as well as the various sponsors (under them giants Nike and adidas) of the players have declined to comment at this point._

_The reactions from the pair’s fans have been mixed so far, with many sending out their support for the couple, and others appearing to be shocked and disgusted that their respective idols are homosexual and/or in relationship with each other. This is a clear sign that homophobia is still a very present issue in football, and the next days will show how far the world of sports has actually come with its many campaigns demanding tolerance and respect. Only one thing is certain - and that is that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have changed the game forever. Football will never be as it was yesterday, with the world happily oblivious that its two best players are gay._


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I thought we promised we wouldn’t read anything, cariño?“

**Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi: The Royal Couple of Football**

 

**CR7 and la Pulga: All the Intel on Their Crazy Sex Life**

 

  **Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi: The Most Unlikely Couple EVER?**

 

**CRISMESSI, LIONALDO or CRESSI: Vote now for Lionel Messi’ and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Couple Name**

 

**Messi and Ronaldo Shock Football World with Secret Relationship**

 

  **Lionel Messi Before Transfer to Real Madrid to Lover Cristiano Ronaldo**

 

**Soccer Players Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo Outed as Gay**

 

  **Cristiano Ronaldo Loves Dominating Leo Messi - On and Off the Pitch**

 

**CRESSI: The New Brangelina? Who tops, who bottoms?**

  

**Is Cristiano Ronaldo a Secret Powerbottom? Vote now!**

 

**Ronaldo to transfer to Barcelona Next Season to join Partner Leo Messi**

 

**Little Leo is a true Lion in Bed, Cristiano is a Lucky Man**

 

\---

 

Cristiano took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. He knew Jorge told them not to read anything, but he just couldn’t resist and snuck out under Leo’s arms and out of the luxurious bedroom in Jorge’s weekend house to get his laptop and see the media reaction for himself. What a load of crap. Well, except for the last one. But he’s pretty sure the _Sun_ just made a lucky guess there.

His eyes returned again to the picture that started all of it and accompanied every single headline: Him and Leo, sleeping soundly in the huge hotel bed in Zurich. They looked peaceful, Cristiano thought, his own arms wrapped around Leo’s smaller frame as if they belonged there, their skin tones contrasting beautifully in the dim light, bronze and ivory together in imperfect harmony. If it weren’t for the way the picture was taken and the turns their lives had taken because of it, he would have loved it, would have wanted a copy. Now, he could get one on every newsstand, and so could everybody - from his worst enemy to his own mother.

But all in all, he didn’t think it was too bad. Seemingly every single press outlet had reported about them, yes, but the general tone of the coverage was alright - he suspected that had a lot to do with the media not wanting to appear homophobic and gay-bashing. But there were sites that accused them of lying about their sexualities because of the woman they had brought to official events, or in Leo’s case, had dated. Apparently they had never heard about bisexuality, Cristiano thought contemptuously.

And of course, many articles from trashier sites focussed on their sexual relationship, but he hoped people had some sense and didn’t believe everything they read. Hah. As if. But still - nobody really seemed to expect them to stop playing or suggested that the clubs should get rid of them, so he could live with the discussions of his sex life if it didn’t affect his professional one. It’s not that he didn’t have to read made-up, ridiculous stories about his antics in the bedroom before.

He turned around from his place on the living room couch when he heard muffled footsteps on the wooden floor. Leo padded in, boxer shorts low on his lean hips, eyes still sleepy, and said with one look to the MacBook in Cristiano’s lap: “I thought we promised we wouldn’t read anything, cariño?“, his tone more resigned than angry when he settled next to Cristiano on the huge sofa, burrowing into his warmth. The Portuguese closed his laptop quickly, putting it on the table next to the couch, but wasn’t fast enough for Leo’s quick eyes that could anticipate any pass or movement on the pitch.

“At least they got one thing right“, he grinned and looked generally pleased with himself. Cristiano only shook his head at that. He would never admit that he thought the exact same thing mere moments before. Everybody assumed that Cristiano was the one with the big ego in the relationship, but you didn’t become one of the worlds two best players without a certain amount of self-confidence. So long story short, Leo’s ego didn’t need any more boosting than it already got on a daily basis. Cristiano’s embarrassingly loud moans every time they had sex had to be enough.

“So, how bad is it?“, Leo asked after the smile had quickly disappeared from his face. “Do we need to hide here forever?“

Cristiano voiced his thoughts from earlier: “Well, considering everything I think it isn’t too bad. I mean, people are shocked, and many aren’t happy that you can be this good at football when you’re gay, but in general I can live with the reaction. What will happen when we stand on the pitch is another story, though.“

Leo sighed, running a distracted hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know. It won’t be pretty I’m afraid. And the clubs still haven’t commented?“

Cristiano shook his head in no: “Nobody has really. The sponsors, the clubs, our teammates, everybody has stayed silent apparently. I’m pretty sure there is some sort of gag order in place or Marcelo would have tweeted his support with 10 rainbow flags emoticons already.“

“They will have to at some point. So there is nothing new from Jorge or Pepe either?“, the Argentine inquired.

"When I last spoke to him he was busy calming down everybody and trying to convince them that us being together doesn’t mean a financial and sporting armageddon, so no.“ The last day had been a blur. They had packed fast with their minimal luggage, only having planned to stay two nights in Zurich originally, and were driven separately to a private airfield just out of the Swiss city, where a private jet took them to Faro at the Portuguese coast.

Their journey was a short and successful one, as nobody seemed to have recognized and photographed them. The hoodies, caps and dark sunglasses seemed to do their job, and the head start they had gotten from Jorge’s friend at Marca had certainly helped. When the news of their relationship hit at noon, they were already in a car with tinted windows on their way to one of Jorge’s many weekend houses, one of his most trusted employees at the steering wheel. Cristiano had been to the place before, actually, visiting Jorge for a few days last summer. It was a gorgeous house, completely secluded, with a long driveway, big gardens and even a private beach, but he would have preferred to be home. Nothing made him feel as secure as being in his own four walls, Leo next to him. But he knew they made the right decision by coming here. The media may have been alright for the most part, but it was still a frenzy. No, it was better this way.

But even though they technically knew that the only people aware of their location where Jorge, Pepe, and their driver (who was someone Jorge and him trusted implicitly), they didn’t dare to go out of the house, spending the rest of day distracting themselves with everything that came to mind: FIFA, books, but no TV because their faces were shown on every single channel. That the photographer had been able to break into their hotel room casted a shadow - Cristiano still figured he got a room key from someone or they would have heard him, but still, the uneasy feeling remained.

After they had stalled it as long as possible, they finally went to bed, both emotionally if not physically exhausted with the day’s ordeal. They were used to sleep in strange beds with all the traveling their job required, but while Leo drifted of soon enough in his usual fashion, Cristiano just couldn’t fall asleep, staring at Jorge’s white ceiling and then his curiosity got the better of him as he decided to catch up on at least some of the thousands and thousand of articles that had been written about them on the last day. Better to know that the enemy thinks, he told himself.

“So in short, there’s nothing new and we can’t influence what happens anyway. So let’s go back to bed, ok? You need the rest, and so do I actually“, Leo more yawned than said and moved to get up, putting his hand on the other man’s freckled shoulder.

“I won’t be able to get any sleep now anyway, querido. You go along, I’ll just read a little and come when I feel tired“, Cristiano answered, taking the hand that rested on his shoulder and kissed it tenderly.

He knew he wouldn’t find any sleep - there were too many thoughts twirling around in his head, he couldn’t unsee some more of the more bitchy headlines. “Not tired? You know I’m the worlds foremost expert on tiring Cristiano Ronaldo out, right?“, Leo winked. Cristiano couldn’t help but smile: “Oh really? I’m pretty sure that many of your defenders have a different opinion on that.“

“Really“, Leo only said, seeming much more awake suddenly, with that predatory look in his eyes that he often got when some teammates of Cristiano were (in his mind at least) too handsy with the Portuguese. He took Cristiano’s hand in his again and settled firmly on strong thighs, already half hard, erection visible through the thin boxer shorts.

Cristiano looked down at him, winking teasingly: “Yes, absolutely. You know, Gerard sometimes wore me out so-“.

But he didn’t get the chance to end his sentence, Leo’s lips assaulting his own, eager tongue coaxing his lips open. He thought about playing hard to get for a moment, but why bother when Leo felt this good, mouth hot on his, weight pressing him into the cushions, so he just ran his free hand through the other man’s hair, enjoying the soft feel of it and deepened the kiss. After a few minutes, heated kisses and wandering hands weren’t enough anymore. For Cristiano, they somehow never were. He couldn’t remember wanting someone like this ever before, and frankly, he didn’t want to, even if it scared him sometimes. But the feeling of Leo’s bare skin on his was just incredible and he craved it like nothing else - except for the adrenaline rush he got on the pitch maybe. Both were like a drug to him. So when he finally got Leo out of his boxers shorts, no CR7’s this time unfortunately, quickly shedding his own pajamas, and their bodies finally met without anything between them, he moaned unashamedly.

He ran his hands over the Argentine’s strong back, muscles flexing under his fingers before settling on his ass, urging Leo to move silently. Usually, they were pretty talkative during sex - or at least one of them was, depending on the mood. Tonight, they were both quiet, the silence only broken by hushed moans as Leo brought Cristiano to completion with his mouth and hands before the older man spilled all about his tanned stomach. It took less than five strokes of the Cristiano's practiced hand before he did the same.

The Portuguese fell back on the couch, chest heaving and the dark skin of his belly covered in both their semen, painting it white. Leo, still on top of him, sitting on his thighs, ran his fingers through the pearly fluid, slowly sucking on them and clearly savoring the taste. That man had a bad oral fixation, Cristiano knew. Not that he minded, he thought as he enjoyed the show above him, before taking one of Leo’s fingers in his mouth and licking it clean. He just couldn’t resist, much to Leo’s pleasure who soon replaced the finger with his mouth. They kissed gently again, movements languid and sated now, come smearing both their flat stomachs. After cleaning up perfunctorily with some tissues from the coffee table, Cristiano threw a blanket over them, settling back into Leo’s embrace.

“It’ll all turn out alright. I know it doesn’t look like this now, but you have to believe me in this“, Leo whispered in his ear and wrapped his arms even tighter around Cristiano.

“Well, it’s no secret you have more faith than me“, Cristiano snorted with a pointed look to Leo’s heavily tattooed right arm. “But for our sake, I’ll believe you“, with these words he closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling of Leo so close to him, his warmth and his smell. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the last chapter of them living in their safe bubble I'm afraid - they will have to face the real world and all that comes with it now ;) I hope you look forward to it as much as I do!  
> Comments are loved and appreciated as always (seriously tell me what you think I'd love to know)!!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Florentino Perez is Real Madrid’s dictator. He can do anything he wants with and in the club. Anything. And if he wants me out of the club, he'll succeed, no matter how much I want to stay."
> 
> Like I could resist the temptation of trashing Perez and writing some Seriker.

Leo could hear the excited chatter behind the automatic door that separated him from the arrival hall of the Barcelona airport El Prat already. A private jet had took him to his Spanish hometown this morning and he had hoped that he would be able to slip out of the airport without being noticed, or at least without being mobbed by the press. He should have known how unlikely that was when no less than six bodyguards (all walking cliché’s in their black suits with aviator sunglasses) waited for him at the taxiway. Maybe he would be less conspicuous without the giants around him, but what did it matter? Someone had probably already seen him board the plane in Faro and had alarmed the media. Luckily he listened to Cristiano and shaved the meagre depression beard he had grown during his week in Portugal. Both of had known that they had to face the press soon enough and he just hoped that at least the older man got to his house in Madrid safely.

“Ready?“, one of the man asked in shaky Spanish as they passed the pass control. Leo just nodded in response. “Good. We’ll take you in our middle, just stay close to us. It’s only about 100 meter to the parking lot and a car is already waiting. And you might want to pull the hood up and put some sunglasses on because of all the camera flashes.“

He looked at Leo expectantly, but the Argentine didn’t act on his advice, just shaking his head and moving towards the arrival hall. In public, Leo might come across as shy, but he had his pride and he would walk in that hall with his head held high, just like Cristiano would. He had nothing to be ashamed of and he wasn't not going to pretend that he had only because it might be more comfortable for some people.

Just as predicted by his security man, the flashes of dozens of camera’s almost blind him as soon as they stepped through the automatic door. The paparazzi immediately started screaming obscenities at him, trying to provoke him - anything to get only one picture of him in which he looked upset, or angry, or ashamed and that would be run on every front page tomorrow, and would probably be worth a small fortune. But Leo didn’t give them the satisfaction, keeping his face relaxed and calm as his security efficiently navigated him through the crowd. The Argentine knew how to maintain a neutral face - it was something you learned soon when you had to deal with the press as much as he had to, and he often had to disguise anger and disappointment on the pitch anyway. It still hurt somewhat, hearing all the insults they shouted, about him, about Cristiano, about their relationship, about his sexuality, but he tried to blend it out.

But suddenly, he felt a smaller hand grabbing his own: “Señor Leo, Señor Leo!!“ A boy, about six or seven years old if Leo had to guess, had found a way through his wall of bodyguards, obviously just slipping through the legs of his security undetected. He wore a Barcelona Messi jersey, traditional blaugrana, and beamed up at Leo excitedly, no trace of shyness at all. “You’re the best! I “ - but a bodyguard moved to grab the boy and pull him away. Leo stopped him immediately, raising his hand.

“It’s okay“, he said to his bodyguard, crouching down a bit to look the boy in the eyes. “Thank you! What’s your name little man?“ The clicking of the camera’s turned insanely loud. “Thiago Señor!“, he answered. “And where are your parents? I hope you haven’t lost them?“, Leo asked, looking around until his eyes found a nervous looking couple who tried to get through all the photographers. “Oh, somewhere back there“, Thiago responded, sounding completely unbothered. Leo had to chuckle, the boy reminded him of his nephews.

“They told me not to wear your jersey outside the house anymore because of that Ronaldo thing, but I don’t care! Ronaldo is cool, but not as cool as you! I want to be like you when I grow up!“, the boy voiced with a conviction that warmed Leo’s heart, but made him stop his assuring looks to Thiago’s parents.“That’s very kind of you to say, and you’re right, you can wear any jersey you like!“ He beckoned one of the security guys over and took the pen that was stuck in the man’s breast pocket.

“Would you like me to sign it for you?“ Thiago’s eyes went big as he nodded eagerly, apparently lost for words for the first time in their encounter. “Great, turn around so I can write on the back“, the Argentine instructed and for once didn’t curse his lack of height as he signed the jersey.

_**For Thiago, from Leo! Stay the way you are and you will wear this jersey in the future - Leo Messi** _

He ruffled the boy's hair and smiled at him: “You better go back to your parents now, they look like they’re having a heart attack.“ He gave the bodyguard the pen back and instructed him to bring Thiago back safely to his parents. “Remember Thiago, you can be whatever you want to be. Never doubt that“, were his last words to the young boy, who had stammered his thanks multiple times by now.

Leo would have asked him if he wanted a photo as well, but he was pretty sure Thiago would find many pictures of them in the newspapers tomorrow. They left the airport without any other incident and before Leo knew it, he was ushered in a black car with tinted windows which raced to the motorway with high speed. He released a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. He had survived his first encounter mostly unscathed, but to be honest Thiago’s words about how his parents didn’t want him to wear his journey anymore had shocked him to the core.

Everybody had a right to their opinion, he didn’t have to like or understand it, but that children were poisoned with these kind of mindsets worried him. On the football pitch, everybody was supposed to be equal. Both Spain and Argentina, and to think of it, Portugal, were deeply catholic countries who didn’t accept homosexuality like many other European countries did, and he feared the reaction of the fans - their coming out would probably change the way they were treated when they stepped on the field. Being away with Cristiano and living in their safe little bubble, ignoring all calls and the media except for that first day had made him hope that everything would turn out alright, but that was wishful thinking most of all, he had to admit to himself now.

Leo slumped in his seat and checked his new phone (a ‘gift’ from Jorge, Cristiano had gotten the exact same one) for a text from his boyfriend, but he hadn’t received one. He frowned, Cristiano’s flight had been considerably shorter than his and he should have been home by now, but maybe he had been held up. He would call him when he was finally in his own four walls again, he promised himself, and closed his eyes, suddenly exhausted.

 

\---

 

Cristiano looked out of the tinted window of the Range Rover he had been just ushered in at the mob of paparazzi that had waited for him at the Madrid airport. They had clearly known that he was coming, but Jorge had always had a good hand with security and his hoard of bodyguards had brought him to the waiting car safely. He had still heard what they screamed at him, though, desperately trying to provoke him to react in any way. Reading something really was different from actually hearing it with your own ears. It made it much more real, all the disgust and hatred. They had called him everything: A traitor, a faggot, a liar. The reporters knew his pride well and if Cristiano were alone in this situation, he would have called them out and answered, not caring about any personal consequences. But he wasn’t - him and Leo were in this together, and so he had bit his tongue until he tasted blood, held his back straight and his head high and pretended that he didn’t care what anyone said.

Cristiano was pretty sure that they bought it and didn’t get the picture out of him that they had wanted, so that was at least something. He was still riled up though -he couldn’t identify all the mixing emotions he felt right now, there was definitely anger, but also hurt and a weird sense of disappointment, so he decided to turn to his personal magic cure that had saved him since he was little and his father was coming home loud and drunk every night.

“Get me to Valdebebas“, he instructed the driver. Cristiano needed to feel grass under his feet, he needed to kick a ball again, he needed some escape from what was happening now that he hadn’t Leo around him to reassure and calm him. He needed to get some control over his life back and he didn’t care if it was a stupid idea. It was Sunday - and a training free day after the game yesterday on top of that. With a bit of luck, he wouldn’t run into any staff or team members anyway and could mind his own business. Even if, they had a meeting scheduled there tomorrow, and what difference did a day make? He preferred to face things head on anyway.

“Señor? I’m afraid Señor Mendes was very clear when he told me to get you home directly from the airport as fast as possible“, the driver answered with a concerned look in the rearview mirror. “Do I need to repeat myself? Just drive me there, please“, Cristiano said impatiently. He only got an unhappy nod in response, but the driver changed directions and soon they were on their way to Ciudad Real Madrid.

 

\---

 

Cristiano entered the huge locker room at their training facility and took a deep breath. The sight and smell alone never failed to calm him. Real Madrid had been home to him for almost six years now and it really felt like one to him by now. He walked toward his locker, where he had lots of training gear and boots stored, but flinched when he heard the door open behind him. Shit. He had hoped to avoid any encounters whatsoever, all he had wanted was a lonely and silent hour on the pitch - just the ball and himself. He steeled himself and turned around to greet whoever had decided to train on a free day. Hopefully it was James. He would just stutter a little at him and then let him be. He was good kid, Cristiano liked him a lot.

But it wasn’t James. Standing in the doorway, wearing the exact same concerned look on their faces, were his two captains. Sergio had probably practiced his worried face in the mirror before to match Iker’s, because neither of them wore training clothes, they were in their usual street attire, Sergio in tight jeans and some hideously bright shirt and Iker in what Cristiano liked to call his beige dad pants and one of his thousands of adidas classic jumpers. They had planned this, Cristiano realized, and wasn’t sure if he should be annoyed or touched. He’d decide when he had heard what they had to say. “This isn’t a coincidental meeting, is it?“, Cristiano said, not bothering with any formalities. They knew each other for so long, they could just cut to the chase. “Did Perez send you?“, he asked, not really meaning his nasty question.

“God, no!“, Iker exclaimed, looking and sounding disgusted and a bit insulted at the assumption. “We’re here on behalf of the team, as your friends, ok?“ Sergio nodded his head vigorously. “We had a feeling you would come here, and we couldn’t reach you any other way, so the janitor promised us to call when he saw you. So here we are.“

Cristiano started to ask how they had known that he would come to the training grounds, but Sergio immediately interrupted him with an impatient wave of his heavily tattooed arm: “Oh please. How long have we known you? But that’s all beside the point now, we don’t have much time I’m afraid.“ The Portuguese looked questioningly at the pair before Iker started to speak again.

“I’m sure we weren’t the only one to ask a member of staff to call as soon as they saw you at Valdebebas, so Sergio’s right, let’s make this short. The whole team stands behind you, ok? We’ve got your back, so you don’t need to worry about that, amigo!“ Cristiano suddenly got a lump in his throat and looked down at the floor. “We can’t imagine what you’re going through right now“, Sergio added with a short side glance at Iker, his voice laced with compassion.

Cristiano bet they didn’t want to either. Nobody really knew for just how long Sergio and Iker were a couple. Seven years? Eight? He wouldn’t even be surprised if they were together since they had first met at the national team. Their relationship wasn’t discussed by anyone in the team or the club- it just was. These two had a bond he secretly hoped he would share with Leo eventually - they felt deep love and genuine affection for each other despite having completely opposite personalties. And maybe he should have crossed that invisible barrier that surrounded their relationship before, and asked them just how they had been together for so long without anyone outing them. It wasn’t like you couldn’t tell from a mile off that these two were in love with each other. It was no secret in the football world either that Iker only had one _nene_ on and off the pitch - and that it was his tumultuous full-back.

“But I’m afraid not everyone in the club feels about this like we do. From what I heard, Jorge and your team did some damage control last week, but Perez still thinks that this will destroy the imagine of the great and pure Real Madrid forever. He will do anything to get you to leave the club ‘voluntarily’, so the media can’t blame him for your exit.“ Cristiano’s heart sank. He should have known it, Perez had had it out for him for some time now. But he had obviously overestimated the value he had to the club - in the president’s eyes at least.

“Hey - we won’t let that happen, alright?“, Sergio said and grabbed his hand. “And how? Not that I don’t appreciate your support guys, I truly do, but Florentino Perez is Real Madrid’s dictator. He can do anything he wants with and in the club. Anything. And if he wants me out of the club, he'll succeed, no matter how much I want to stay. You know this as well as I do“, Cristiano responded defeatedly.

“Let’s just say that we have a plan. But for that to work in the long run, you need to meet him and the board tomorrow. Just be understanding of what he’s saying - I know that will be hard - but just do it and tell Jorge to behave the same way. He won’t ask you to leave outright because he’s afraid that the media will get wind of it, so you don’t have to worry too much about tomorrow. Just be there and pretend to be his good little toy, just what he likes his players to be. Sergio and I will deal with the rest, even if might take us some time.“

Cristiano didn’t know what to say. He just pulled both of them in an awkward hug. Sergio wrapped his arms around him immediately and Iker just patted his shoulder a bit. “It’s alright, Cristiano. You better leave now, because Perez and his cohorts getting you alone won’t really help with anything. We’ll talk soon.“ The Portuguese nodded and turned towards the door.

“Thank you both. Truly“, he said. “Of course, amigo. We’re a team after all. We protect each other,“ Sergio answered earnestly.

Cristiano already had his hand on the doorknob when Iker addressed him one last time, voice half teasing, half serious: “Did it really have to be a Barcelona player of all people?“

“We often fall for the most unlikely people, Capi. You know this as well as I do.“ With a last wink to Sergio, Cristiano was out of the door.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo.. What did you think?


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You know, thinking of all people possibly coming up with a master plan on how to safe your career, I certainly never envisioned Sergio Ramos being one of them.“

Cristiano felt his phone vibrate in the pocket of his black leather jacket. It had to be Jorge or Leo, as far as he knew nobody else had the new number yet. Remembering that he promised to text Leo as soon as he was home safely, and that should have been hours ago, it was probably the Argentine checking up on him. Protective git, he thought with a strangely warm feeling in his chest. The screen did indeed show the name of his boyfriend - he would have to choose a caller photo soon, now that there was no need to disguise who was calling him every day and some nights, he thought to himself as he took the call.

“Hey you! I’m still in the car, but I’ll be home in about ten minutes. I’ll call you right back, alright?“, Cristiano said, trying his best to sound chipper. He was completely unsuccessful, though, Leo saw right through him. “Did something happen?“, Leo immediately corrected himself: “Stupid question, you probably can’t talk freely right now. So yes, cariño, call me right back.“ With this, he ended the call. He probably knew he wouldn’t get anything out of Cristiano as long as the Portuguese had company.

Cristiano looked down at the phone, heart sinking again. Leo had done everything to help him maintain a positive attitude until now, even though he was worried himself. He had tried to hide it, but Cristiano had of course noticed. His situation at Real Madrid would shock and sadden Leo, he was sure of it. Perez might not be the Argentine’s favorite person, but a club turning on one of it’s players like this was something a person who was as loyal as Leo could never understand. He had been at Barcelona for as long as he could remember and the relationship that he had with the Catalan club was very different from Cristiano’s to Real, just because he had never played anywhere else professionally. Barca was Leo’s one and only family in football - both club and team. And while Cristiano considered his team and some of the staff members to be a kind of family to him too, his relationship to Perez and the Real Madrid was too superficial to call it anything else but a working arrangement.

The Portuguese had transferred two times and they had both shown him how hard the business could be - in the end they were just very expensive investments which would better be worth the money. Leo wasn’t naive, he knew this as well, but it was just different if you had experienced a transfer where nothing but the money mattered yourself. Now Perez thought that his investment had lost its worth, he wanted to get rid of it. He had been suspicious that the club had seemed to deal with situation well of course, but Jorge had assured him multiple times that he had decent conversations with Perez and the board and they would talk everything through when they all sat around the same table. In hindsight, he should have trusted his gut, but most of all he had wanted everything to go well, so he had pushed his uneasy feelings aside and chose to believe Jorge.

Cristiano was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t even noticed that the vehicle had stopped moving. “We are here, Señor. Do you want me to get your luggage inside for you?“, the driver asked as he turned around. “No thank you. It’s just one suitcase, I’ll get it myself.“ He hesitated for a second, then added: “Thank you for driving me to Valdebebas. I’ll talk to Jorge, there won’t be any consequences for you.“

Cristiano didn’t wait for a reaction, just got his suitcase out of the trunk and made the few steps to the door, where he entered his key code for the house and stepped inside. Finally. His body immediately lost some of its tension. He longed for a work-out and then a long, hot shower to ease up his cramped muscles, but he knew that Leo would worry for nothing if he didn’t call back as he promised, so he got himself a glass of water and dialed Leo’s number.

\---

Leo paced in his huge living room, cell phone in a death grip in his hand. He should have realized that there was something wrong earlier, when he hadn’t received 5 selfies from Cris when he was bored in the plane or the car. He immediately thought about checking online if something had happened, but then decided to rather hear it from Cristiano himself. When his phone started ringing, he almost dropped it. He instantly noticed that it was normal call - usually they used Facetime or Skype so they at least got to see each other despite all the distance between them. If Cristiano, and be it subconsciously, didn’t want to show his face, it had to be bad. Leo could read him easily by now, even if they hadn’t been together for that long, and Cristiano knew that. Well damn.

Leo took a deep breath before swiping his screen to accept the call and sat down at the big sofa. Him sounding worried or anxious wouldn’t be helpful at all, he had to get himself together. “Cristiano. How are you, my love?“, he said, the endearment slipping out of him. Leo didn’t even notice, but Cristiano hundreds of miles away smiled the first sincere smile for what felt like days to him, but in reality were probably just the about eight or nine hours that they had been separated.

“I’m alright, querido“, Cristiano answered, sounding more at ease than before but still tense. Leo only snorted incredulously at that. “It’s true. I’m not great, I admit that, but it’s alright. You worry too much“, he tried to tease. In reality, Leo was convinced that he liked that the younger man worried about him. Cristiano would never admit it of course, he was way too proud, but who didn’t like being cared about, Leo thought to himself and chose to cut to the chase. No need to talk around the main reason why they even were on the phone. “Just tell me what happened. Please.“

At first, his plea was met with silence. But as Cristiano started speaking, Leo realized the other man had just been looking for the right words.

“Perez wants me out of the club. My homosexuality and our relationship are tainting his precious and pure Real Madrid, but they don’t want to end my contract or throw me out, they want me to go voluntarily. You know, so that they won’t look bad. Probably they’ll transfer me to the highest bidder so they can still make good money out of me“. His voice turned more bitter with each word, his Portuguese accent getting more prominent.

Leo was lost for words at first. When he had imagined what could have happened, he thought about a bad encounter with a fan or a paparazzo, that someone had turned violent or got really insulting, but Cristiano’s own club turning on him like this shocked him to the core. “But.. I don’t understand! I heard Jorge say myself that the club was alright, if not happy with all of it. I thought that was why you had the meeting tomorrow, to talk out some differences?! How do you even know all this?“, Leo rambled and started his pacing again.

“Well.. Let’s just say that I didn’t exactly receive a warm welcome at the airport. And.. I was frustrated and needed an outlet ok?“, Cristiano said, already sounding defensive. “So I decided to go to the training center, get rid of some excess energy you know?“

Leo stifled his groan at that, but covered his eyes with his free hand for good measure. Suddenly he was glad that they didn’t facetime. If someone could understand the need of feeling grass underneath your feet, running around the pitch and kicking the ball into the net until there was no breath left in your body, it was him. He couldn’t really blame Cristiano for that, he longed for it himself, but both Pepe and Jorge had been very clear that they were not to handle any business with the clubs themselves. So they had their meetings scheduled tomorrow, first thing in the morning, and then were supposed to join their squads for training again if everything went according to plan.

Cristiano took Leo’s silence as a cue to talk on, clearly trying to explain himself. “But before I could even change into my workout gear-“, but Leo interrupted him, something he very rarely did: “Perez came into the locker room, sat you down on one of the benches so he could look down at you just how he likes it and showed how evil he truly is?“ The Portuguese couldn’t help but laugh, Perez with his superiority complex really did hate to have to look up at someone. “Well maybe we should just swap clubs, you would be the perfect player for him“, he teased. “But no, that’s not what happened.“

After Cristiano was done telling Leo everything that had happened with Iker and Sergio, seemingly leaving nothing out (Leo even got informed about Iker’s displeasure about Cristiano dating a Barcelona player, thanks very much), they were quiet once again. “Well, first of all I’m glad that you’re team has your back, that’s the most important thing in this situation. And before Iker and Sergio can or want to tell you more, I guess it’s best if you do as they say and pretend to know nothing at all. Listen to what Perez has to say tomorrow and then we will know more“, Leo tried to summarize his first thoughts on the situation.

“Yes, that I was what I has in mind as well. It’ll be hard though, when all I want to do is jump across the table and strangle Perez with my own hands! If he could say what he thinks to my face I could at least somewhat respect it, you know?“ Leo nodded before remembering that the Portuguese couldn’t see him and murmured his agreement. They then talked through some strategies for tomorrow, because Leo knew very well that sitting at that table and being agreeable and quiet would be hard for Cristiano. He hated losing control in general, but handing it over to Perez like that, even if it was for show, really was a challenge.

When they were discussing their crazy theories on Sergio’s and Iker’s plan, Leo had to chuckle suddenly. “What is it, querido?“, asked Cristiano softly. “You know, thinking of all people possibly coming up with a master plan on how to safe your career, I certainly never envisioned Sergio Ramos being one of them“, the Argentine explained.

“Yeah great, thanks for the encouragement. Now I’m really confident it’ll all work out!“, Cristiano groaned. Leo could practically see him throwing up his hands theatrically, messing up his carefully styled hair.

“That’s not how I meant it at all, cariño. I actually believe Sergio and Iker will do anything they can to help you - I’ve played against them so many times in my career and I know how protective they get about their teammates, not even mentioning themselves. And if Sergio sets his mind on something, he always follows through. Believe me, I’ve been often unfortunate enough to experience that first-hand“, Leo said, shuddering at the many times an over-motivated Ramos and he had clashed at Clásicos. “So chin up, alright? It will all work out, you’ll see“. Leo somehow managed to sound much more confident about this than he actually was, but his boyfriend needed moral support and negative thinking wouldn’t get them anywhere.

“You’re right. Useless worrying won’t help the situation anyway“, Cristiano unknowingly echoed Leo’s thoughts. “So how was it for you today? Did everything go okay?“, he asked. Leo innerly debated if he should tell Cristiano about his encounter with little Thiago. He just couldn’t forget about it, and his heart got heavy just thinking about it. But Cristiano had had a bad day as it was, and hearing that Leo was upset and why wouldn’t make him feel any better, on the contrary. First he would get angry, and then sad. And that wouldn’t be worth it, in Leo’s mind.

So he told Cristiano that everything indeed had gone okay, that yes, the security had been smooth, and that no, he had blocked everything that the media shouted at him out, so it was all good. Cristiano didn’t seem wholly convinced at first, and he would have probably picked up on it on any other day, but he was tired and wanted to believe that at least Leo had had a good day and so he did.

They said their goodbyes soon after, promising to call tomorrow as soon as their meetings with the club and their first training session had finished. Leo sat back on the couch again like he had when the call had first started. He balled his fists. Some day, he would make Florentino Perez pay for this. He didn’t know how exactly, but he was friends with Dani Alves. They would come up with something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that was very dialogue-heavy and slightly depressing, but the next chapter will deal with Leo's first day back at Barca so there'll be some action soon! 
> 
> I wanted this finished before el Clásico, and I somehow managed it :) Have a great game everyone, no matter who you're supporting. I'm actually a die-hard Bayern Munich fan (sorry), so my heart will be slowly torn apart watching because I could never choose between Leo and Cristiano and want both of them to do well. So how about a draw and they both score? ;)
> 
> UPDATE: Hahahahaha well shit


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You hijo de puta! You have been fucking Cristiano Ronaldo FOR MONTHS and you didn’t tell me! You will suffer for this!“

Leo walked out his meeting with Josep Bartomeu and some of the board members with a smile on his face and a much lighter heart. After what had happened with Cristiano yesterday he had seriously dreaded the meeting, not knowing that to expect, but it had went well. He would be lying if he said they had been happy for him, but they were accepting, and how Bartomeu had put it: “You are Lionel Messi. You have done everything for Barcelona, you live and breathe for the club. We could never turn our backs on you and we don’t want to.“

They had implied that they would appreciate it if Leo continued to live his relationship privately, but since they knew him well they hadn’t actually needed to say it out loud. Everybody was aware of the fact that Leo was the person who would have preferred it to keep his relationship under wraps most of all, at least from the media. To be quite honest, he didn’t mind that people knew that Cristiano was taken now.

You know how hard it is to be in a relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo and not brag about it? Not that Leo was the bragging sort, but just look at the Portuguese. Who could be that man’s lover and wouldn’t want to shout ’MINE’ at every single person who ate Cristiano up with their eyes (and there were many)? Besides, that their relationship was official now would maybe keep some of Cris’ more touchy-feely teammates from using him as their personal cuddling device. Especially that Colombian puppy. Leo grinned, feeling very content indeed.

Ok, maybe he was a bit possessive. But he knew for a fact that Cristiano didn’t mind as long as he only acts out on his possessive streak out in the bedroom, so it’s all good. He mused about all the places where he would mark Cristiano up the next time they’d see each other - love bites had been strictly prohibited before as both of their squads were crazily nosey and wouldn’t have stopped bothering them until they knew exactly who had left their mark on them, why, in which position, and where’d they had met them. Their Ballon d’Or celebration had been an glorious exception, but then, the marks would have faded until Cristiano joined Madrid for training again.

His smile quickly turned to a pained expression when he thought about his upcoming training session. Dani would tease him relentlessly, and Geri would make penis jokes until his ears bled. That was just in their nature - Leo didn’t mind, he usually laughed along when the jokes were directed at Jordi or Sergi about their latest conquests, but he really preferred to keep his sex life private. He vowed to think about Cristiano moaning shamelessly under him every time he had to suffer through a bad joke - that mental image was worth every tease thrown at him.

Leo walked the known halls of Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper, Barça’s huge training facility at the outskirts of the Catalan capital, before coming to a stop at the door to the first teams locker room. He hesitated one second, before shaking his head at himself, and opened the door. As soon as he took one step into the room, every single head turned to him. Apparently the whole squad was already there, judging from the many faces looking at him.

There were exactly three seconds of awkward silence before Dani screamed: “You hijo de puta! You have been fucking Cristiano Ronaldo FOR MONTHS and you didn’t tell me! You will suffer for this!“ With this, he launched himself at Leo and started to tickle him relentlessly. That fucker just knew Leo’s weaknesses.

It took about another two seconds for the whole team to join Dani, and before Leo knew it he was a half laughing, half crying mess on the floor, the majority of his teammates lying on top of him, shouting obscene jokes at him (Geri, Dani and Masche), tickling him (Ivan, Jordi, Luis and Pedro) or just ruffling his hair good-naturedly (Xavi and Andrés). He hadn’t felt this light since that glorious morning in Zurich, which had turned bad so quickly. His teammates might mostly be a bunch of childish idiots, but they were his family, and he had never been as glad that he had them as he was now.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Neymar quietly slipping through the door to the training grounds. Leo frowned, that was so out of character for him - the Brazilian usually never missed an opportunity to goof around. Especially as him and Ney were quite close - they might seem like an unlikely duo, but their chemistry on the pitch had their ground on a good friendship off it. Leo had immediately noticed the determination in Neymar’s eyes as he arrived at Barcelona. Many people thought of Ney as a joker, a creative player who lived of his huge talent, but he was actually incredibly driven and as hungry for success and titles as Leo was, and so they had formed an connection easily. That they shared the same sense of humor was only one more plus on the list. Maybe he was angry because Leo hadn’t told him about Cristiano himself and had to find it out from the media alongside everybody else. Leo vowed to talk to him later and clear the situation up, he was sure it was just a misunderstanding.

The loud voice of Luis Enrique pulled his attention back to the situation at hand, aka the about ten people still lying on top of him: “What’s going on here?? Have you lot now completely lost your minds?“ Everyone scrambled to their feet at high speed - seriously, they were fast even for professional athletes - and mumbled their apologies. Only then the manager spotted Leo, who had been hidden under his teammates before. In true Lucho fashion he shot Leo a single look and then simply said: “Oh, now I get it. Welcome back Leo.“ With this, and the warning that if they weren’t on the pitch in five minutes they would have to run endless drills, he left.

After that, everybody calmed down somewhat and went back to whatever they were doing before Leo had come in. So Geri took the opportunity and pulled him in one of his trademark bear hugs, almost cutting of his air supply with how hard he was pressing Leo against his broad chest. “If anyone gives you any shit whatsoever, you know I will beat the crap out of them, right?“, he whispered in Leo’s ear.

Leo had to smile. The first time Geri promised that to him was when they were both 14 year old boys, attending la Masia together with Cesc. Geri had always been the tallest guy everywhere he went, and Leo the smallest, but somehow they ended up being friends, and Geri had made good on his promise more than once, be it on or off the pitch. Geri was one the people he was most grateful for in his life, someone who was fiercely loyal and always supportive, always there to cheer him up and draw Leo out of one of his bad moods. So he really should have known that Geri knew him too well to be able to keep his relationship with Cristiano a secret from him for too long, and so it had taken him only about a month to find out.

They had been playing FIFA at Leo’s house one day when Cristiano had facetimed him. Leo had gone to his kitchen to take the call, covering the screen to keep Geri from catching the caller ID, but of course the Catalan didn’t give up so easily. He had been bugging Leo about his secret girlfriend for the past few weeks and Leo had always denied having any relationship at all (God knew how Geri knew at all, it was like the man could smell it or something), so honestly, he should have expected Geri to follow him and eavesdrop.

But it had been kind of worth it for his facial expression alone when he had launched himself at Leo and wrenched the phone from his grip and only to see Cristiano on the screen, wearing nothing but his CR7 briefs and laying in his bed in Madrid. Seriously, he treasured that memory. Whenever him and Cristiano needed a good laugh, they thought about that moment. The combination of the horrified / surprised face and the completely unmanly squeal Geri had let out had just been too perfect.

After the initial shock (“Leo, when I told you to join me on the dark side I meant that it’s ok to use the young players as your own personal slaves, not to fuck a Real Madrid player!“), Geri had taken it surprisingly well. There had been hundreds of crude jokes of course, but after Leo had told him the whole story of how him and Cristiano had gotten together and were making it work somehow, Geri had been quiet for a while, before he had said: “You know, this should surprise me, and partly it does, because you two are polar opposites in so many ways. But then, you share that same drive and ambition to succeed that I haven’t seen in anybody else in my whole career. And who could understand you and your way of life better than him?“

Many people forgot that Geri had played with Cristiano at Manchester United for a few years and knew the Portuguese pretty well. And he had known how hard it had been for Leo to find somebody who could truly understand the unique position he was in, and all the pressure and problems that came with it. Football was the most important thing in Leo’s life (at least it had been before he got together with Cristiano) and that had been too hard to accept even for the handful of people who had wanted Leo not only for his money and his fame. Geri’s words actually summarized very well why Leo himself had quickly realized that Cristiano and him were a perfect fit. Adding the intense physical connection and the incredible sex that came with it, the Argentine had known from very early on that he didn’t want to let Cristiano go, ever.

So he shook the memories off, just stood on his tiptoes, hugged Geri back as strong as he could, and simply answered: “I know.“

“Good. And now get changed, or has all that galactico sex worn you out?“

With these words, Geri slapped his ass and walked back to his locker. Normally, Leo would have groaned at that, but he just smiled. At least some things hadn’t changed, so he didn’t mind. Not at all.

\- - -

After training, Leo’s lungs burned and his legs felt heavy, but he basked in the feeling. He had longed for grass under his feet and a good kicking about just as Cristiano had, and his mood would have brightened even more if it wasn’t for Neymar resolutely ignoring him. He had greeted him, but Leo was used to being lifted in the air in an overly enthusiastic hug, and not a half-hearted wave across the entire field. During the session, Ney had only interacted with him when it was absolutely necessary and had otherwise kept his distance. Of all the people who Leo had feared to be unsupportive of his relationship, or be put off by it, Neymar hadn’t been on his mind once.

So when Neymar brushed past him to get to the locker room as quickly as possible, Leo had already raised his hand and opened his mouth to call his name and confront him about his weird behavior, but a hand on his shoulder held him back. He turned around to see Dani standing behind him with a concerned face. That alone worried Leo even more - if Dani looked that way it couldn’t mean anything good.

“Leave him be, Leo. He just needs some time, alright? He’ll come around eventually.“

“What exactly do you mean by that? I never imagined Neymar to be the type of guy to judge anyone for who he goes to bed with. I really think it’s better when I talk to him about it, he’ll understand, I’m sure“, Leo answered, now completely confused. A few years ago, he would have been silent and hoped that the problem with Neymar would somehow fix itself, but he had changed as he became more confident over the years.

“Dios mío, how can anybody be so daft?“, Dani muttered, as if Leo couldn’t perfectly hear him. But before he could get a fitting response in, the Brazilian said: “Are you fucking blind? He’s fucking in love with you! And you’re with someone else, someone he thinks he could never compete with!“

Leo never went from feeling confused to feeling horrible as fast as in that moment. “You can’t be right! He’s.. He’s a kid! He maybe admires me but nothing more!“, he stammered, but didn’t believe his own words as many memories of Neymar staring maybe a bit too lovingly at him flashed before his eyes. He had always waved Neymar’s obvious admiration off as some sort of platonic hero worship, but he knew very well that Dani, Neymar’s closest friend here at Barça and someone Leo also trusted implicitly, would never lie to him about this. Fuck.

Dani only shook his head at him as he began to walk off the pitch. “Leave him alone, I warn you. I know him, and he needs his distance right now.“ Taking in Leo’s now pale and pained expression he added softly: “He’s 21, he’ll get over it, trust me. I’ll take care of him in the meantime.“ Leo nodded silently and stared at his feet. His good mood had vanished completely. He hoped to God that at least Cristiano’s meeting had gone well or it would have been a really shitty day.

He started to follow Dani to the locker room, but then stopped in his tracks. It would be better to give Neymar some time to shower and leave in peace, so Leo went back and shot ball after ball into the net until the goal bursted with them.

\- - -

Leo should have been suspicious when he saw that there was light on in his house as he came home from training, but at first he thought that his housekeeper had just forgotten to turn it off - it wouldn’t be the first time. But then he entered the kitchen to get something to drink before calling Cristiano and froze when he saw that there was someone sitting at the table in the center of the room. Fuck. He should have known that he couldn’t avoid his father forever.

“Lionel. Good, you’re finally here. I took the first flight from Rosario when I saw the pictures of you arriving in Barcelona yesterday. We have to talk - you and that Portuguese, that has to end.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo, what did you think? I hope I didn't write anyone too much out of character. Have a great weekend :)
> 
> P.S.: Leo's conflict with his family about his relationship and homosexuality will be his central problem of the story, the same as Cristiano's conflict with Real Madrid will be his.
> 
> P.P.S.: I am convinced of the fact that Gerard Piqué gives the best squishy hugs on the planet, you can see the evidence here (seriously, click it, it's adorable):  
> http://40.media.tumblr.com/23a2268cf174f6c2372add517abe244c/tumblr_nnqvmou3mr1qjhupxo1_1280.jpg


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Dad, I might not be gay - but I am with a man. I’m in love with a man, I have sex with a man, and I want to spend my life with a man, and that man is Cristiano! So you better get used to it, because I definitely don’t see that changing anytime soon!“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe so many of you have commented on this or have left Kudos - thank you all so much! I'm truly grateful and all of the support keeps me super motivated! <3

At first, Leo didn’t know what to say, even though he had played the conversation they were going to have through in his mind hundreds of times: His father insulting Cristiano, their relationship and of course Leo himself. He had had good reasons why he had avoided any contact with his family to this point, except for a quick text to his mother that he was alright before they had left for Portugal and gotten new phones. His fathers harsh words reminded him of all of them and didn’t surprise him in the least - they were what he had been expecting all along. He had thought he would hear them through the telephone though, with a safe distance between them and the possibility to hang up at every moment.

To think that he had hoped that 6500 miles and an 15 hour flight would keep his stubborn, controlling father away from him had been stupidly optimistic, or as Leo preferred to see it now, just plain stupid. He had expected their first conversation to get pretty ugly, knowing his father and his homophobic views that came from being raised in a very strict christian household, and he wasn’t let down. His father obviously took his silence as a cue to rant on, his face turning redder and redder with every word.

“You two laying in bed together, it’s disgusting! And to think the whole world has seen it, your shame for everybody to witness! Ronaldo probably sold the pictures to that tabloid, you know that right?"

That was the point when Leo had enough - in their usual fights, he sometimes didn’t even bother to argue back, because that only spurred his father on, so he just took a deep breath and accepted almost everything that was thrown at him. He had known that his father would try to make him feel guilty about everything that had happened, and that he would never hear the end of it, but he drew the line at him insulting Cristiano. So at last Leo stepped into the room, as if he had needed permission to enter his own goddamn kitchen before, and did exactly what he had planned to do before, because he knew that his lack of immediate reaction would only unnerve his father. Therefore he passed him without a look and simply walked to the kitchen counter and got himself a glass of water.

He took a large gulp as he walked to the table to sit down opposite to his father, slammed the glass down on the table with some water sloshing over rim and finally responded in a dangerously calm voice: “No Dad, of course it was okay to let you in yourself without calling ahead that you were coming from ARGENTINA. And since we are on the topic, this is my house, and you won’t speak about Cristiano that way here! We both know that he has as much to loose from this as I have, so don’t try to put the blame on him!“

“Oh please! Even if he hasn’t called the paps on you two, that Madridista is just playing with you! He’s fucking with your head - that’s why he won the Ballon d’Or and not you!“, Jorge Messi said viciously.

“Are you even listening to yourself?“, Leo shook his head. “Do you know how crazy and paranoid you sound? There is no grand scheme behind this, our relationship just happened because we both wanted something more than football in our lives, not that you could ever understand that! For you there is only football and money, and how I feel and what I want doesn’t matter at all!“

In his typical fashion, his father completely ignored him as he had when they had had that exact argument countless times before, and went where he knew he could hurt Leo the most: His conscience and his family.

“I can’t even look your abuela in the eyes anymore! You know how shaken the poor woman is? To think that I raised a.. a queer! You are shaming your whole family and you don’t even care, don’t you? All that matters to you now is that campy boyfriend of yours and your own life here, away from us, your family! You never appreciated what we sacrificed for you, for the life you can live now because of us!“

Leo instinctively had the desire to hunch his shoulders and stare at his feet like he had so many times when he was a kid, being scolded for not scoring or not playing good enough (not that his father didn’t call regularly now when he thought that Leo was underperforming). But with those memories came the knowledge that he wasn’t a child anymore, and he had a responsibility to stand up for Cristiano - and for himself for that matter. He didn’t doubt that his family had problems with him being in a relationship with a man - or him being gay as they all surely assumed, as bisexuality was even more of a foreign concept for them than bisexuality - but that still gave his father absolutely no right to talk to him like this. Enough was enough.

So he stood up as straight as he could, remembering all the times Cristiano teased him about his slouching and how important a good posture was, and stared his father right in the eyes. Pussyfooting around wouldn’t help anyone, so he decided to lay it on the line for his father for once and for all. He ignored all the talk about him being ungrateful - it wasn’t the first time that had been brought up - and cut right to the true core of the problem.

“Dad, I might not be gay - but I am with a man. I’m in love with a man, I have sex with a man, and I want to spend my life with a man, and that man is Cristiano! So you better get used to it, because I definitely don’t see that changing anytime soon!“, Leo said, his voice surprisingly steady, even though he was shaking with anger and hurt. But there was no use talking around it anymore, and even if he knew that his father wouldn’t respect him any more for actually telling him the truth, he should at least hear it.

When he saw the fury rising in his fathers eyes and how he took a deep breath to rant on, Leo realized nothing he had said had had any impact and nothing he could say to him at this moment would. For that to happen, Jorge Messi would have to do something that he very rarely did: He would have to actually listen to what Leo was telling him. So he didn’t even give him the chance to respond - why should he when he knew what would be coming anyway?

He only put his right hand up and said: “I’m going upstairs to change and call my boyfriend, and when I come down again I expect you to be gone.“

“I’m your father, you can’t kick me out like this! Does family really mean nothing to you anymore?“, his father reproached him. Leo suddenly felt all the exhaustion from after practice come back into his body. His muscles ached almost as much as his heart, and even his bones felt tired.

"You can pay with one of my various credit cards that you carry around like they are your own when you check into whichever fancy hotel you choose. Does that answer your question?“, he answered and then did what he had never done before: He stood up to exit the kitchen and left his grumbling father behind, without a look back.

All he wanted was his bed and to hear Cristiano’s voice, telling him that at least his day had went well and that everything would turn out alright.

\- - -

A few hours earlier, Cristiano sat a newly polished conference table in Madrid, waiting for Perez to finally show up to their meeting. He should have known the president would make him wait - there was nothing that the man enjoyed more than to show people who had the power. He was getting increasingly irritated, and judging Jorge who was nervously tapping his fingers on the table and leaving fingerprints all over the shiny surface, his agent did as well.

Then his phone buzzed with a text against his thigh. Figuring that Perez would probably make them wait some longer, so why not check if Leo had texted him some news already, he pulled it out. To his slight disappointment it was from Iker - Cristiano had texted him and Sergio his new number after filling Jorge in on the whole situation last night. But when he read the message (he could hear Iker’s calm yet commanding captain voice saying the words to him in his head), he had to smile.

_Just breathe, and remember: Stay calm and let him say whatever he wants. He’ll get what he deserves in the end. I._

He hurriedly pocketed the phone after hearing the door being opened and stood up to greet Perez and his entourage, but when he turned around the president was alone. Cristiano shot a glance at Jorge - his agent seemed as surprised as he was. They had expected a meeting with the entire board, not Perez coming on his own. He quickly schooled his features into a friendly smile and extended his hand to greet Perez, but the president apparently had other plans as he just ignored Cristiano’s attempts and placed both his hands on his shoulders.

“Oh Cristiano, my boy, what have you done now?“, he shook his head at him theatrically. “I know you love attention, but this is a bit much, isn’t it? Messi? Seriously?“

With these words, he actually lay his hand on Cristiano’s right cheek and slapped it lightly.

Cristiano was speechless for a second. How patronizing could you get? He was a 29-year-old man with no personal relationship to Perez whatsoever, and yet here he stood, being treated and talked to like a child who had misbehaved. Real’s president didn’t even wait for an answer or any reaction at all really - why should he when he had said what he wanted to say, Cristiano thought bitterly - and sat down on the opposite side of the conference table, ignoring Jorge completely. Cristiano took a deep breath to keep the more than impolite words that lay on his tongue from tumbling out, and took a seat. Iker and Leo would better be proud of him for staying silent.

\- - -

“How did it go?“, Iker asked him as soon as he entered the almost empty dressing room at Valdebebas - the only people present were Cristiano and his two captains. No wonder as practice was scheduled to begin not until 11 AM, which was in half an hour. Iker and Sergio had clearly waited for him to be able to talk privately.

"Please tell me you didn’t lose your temper and told him to go fuck himself. Please“, Iker muttered.

“Relax, Capi. If you managed to not punch José in the three years he was here, I think I can handle one hour with our little dictator.“ Iker made a face at that, but visibly relaxed.

"See, I told you it would go well!“, Sergio said and elbowed Iker in the side. But no, you’re Iker, you always have to worry needlessly. Someday you’re going to look like a human version of that grumpy cat!“

Cristiano could understand Iker only too well - if they really had the chance to get rid of Perez once and for all, he would be tense too.

"It was exactly like you said Iker: He let me know in no uncertain terms that he’s not happy about the situation, but of course we at Madrid are one big family, and as long as Leo and I keep everything private from now on, nothing will change, bla bla bla. But he was pretty adamant that I keep my distance from the press. You know him - he loves nothing more than hearing himself talk“, he added.

Iker and Sergio both nodded. There wasn’t a single person in the club who hadn’t been forced to suffer through plenty of Perez lengthy and self-important speeches.

“Who else was there? Some of the board members, right?“, the defender inquired.

“Well, that was the only weird thing - he came alone. I expected an entire entourage to show up, but nothing.“

The two captains shared a knowing look. “Well what is it?“ Cristiano asked. “If you know more than I do, then fill me in!“

"We had some suspicions that he doesn’t have the backing of the board with wanting to force you out. I’m pretty sure that’s why he showed up alone. But…“

“..he’s Real’s dictator. He does whatever he wants“, Cristiano completes Iker’s thoughts.

“That he is. For now“, Iker said with grim determination. “Just stick to the plan and I act like you believe all of his bullshit, we’ll take care of the rest. But don’t be surprised if the media are vicious in the next weeks. If the club isn’t standing behind him, he’ll resort to have the media do his dirty work for him.“

Cristiano just nodded and went to his locker to change. He longed to finally feel grass under his feet again, to hear the ball finding the net. Almost two weeks without football was just too long. When he was wearing his full training gear and a scarf to protect him from the icy January cold, he hesitated shorty before addressing Iker again.

“Can you do me one last favor? Can you please tell the team to not make a fuss that I’m back? I just want to play football and forget this whole mess for an hour. And all of them hanging over me and asking if I’m alright is the last thing I need right now, even if it’s meant well.“

Iker nodded in understanding - if someone hated when people fussed over him (people that weren’t a certain Andalusian that is), it was the goalkeeper. “I’ll tell them, they will understand. No guarantees for Marcelo and Isco, though!“

“And that’s a one time exception, bro. Next time, we’ll all give you shit for shacking up with Leo Messi of all people, you understand? No person in this squad can date a Blaugrana and get away with it so easily“, Sergio added with a big grin. Cristiano didn’t miss the proud glance Iker threw Sergio at this.

“Thank you“, Cristiano told them sincerely and made a mental note to steel himself before the next training session. With that in mind, he escaped to the pitch to avoid his teammates before Iker had given them their pep talk to run a few rounds to warm up.

\- - -

After everybody had greeted him, some more awkward than others, but all of them sincerely happy to see Cristiano back with them, Carlo came on the pitch and embraced his forward warmly. “Are you happy?“, he only asked, and Cristiano’s nod seemed to be enough of an answer to him..

Carlo started the training session without further ado - always calm and collected, the Italian - and the squad stood around its coach to listen to the instructions for their first exercise.

He could hear Isco whispering to Alvaro behind him, the Spaniard clearly trying to be unobtrusive, but failing as always: “Do you think he wants me to name Messi something else now?“

Cristiano didn’t need to turn around to see Dani exasperatedly shaking his head at his friend, you could hear the exasperation in his voice: “Oh I don’t know Isco, how would you feel if Cris decides to name his dog after your boyfriend? ‘Come here, Alvaro! Good boy, Alvaro’! I don’t think you would like that!“, Dani hissed. Marcelo next to Cristiano was listening in too and already giggling, trying to stifle it with his scarf.

“So I should give him a new name?“, Isco checked again, just to be completely sure apparently. “YES!“, Dani pretty much yelled at him, to Cristiano’s extreme amusement and Marcelo’s now uncontrolled laughter. Leo would have a right laugh over this, he was sure. He would have to tell him when he rang him up after practice.

After that, training was pretty much the usual. Everybody was in good spirits, and rightly so, they still had all chances in the league, and a freshly crowned Ballon d’Or winner in their midst - well except for Fabio who kept his distance, but Cristiano had his suspicions about that. Marcelo and him joked around, Pepe and James in tow as always (the Colombian seemed a bit down for some reason, but had hugged Cristiano tightly and assured him it was nothing when he had asked), Iker’s eyes didn’t leave Sergio except when he was barking at some of the youngsters and Carlo was torturing his chewing gum. At least some things in Cristiano’s life hadn’t changed.

\- - -

Practice had finished and Cristiano relished the feeling of his well used muscles as he dressed himself, hair still wet after taking a well deserved hot shower. At the locker next to him, Fabio was throwing his dirty training clothes in his duffle, being as noisy as possible but still not saying one word to Cristiano. Cristiano sighed inwardly, having a feeling that he knew exactly what the other Portuguese’ uncharacteristic silence was about. He decided confronting Fabio directly was his best option, so he plainly told him: “Spit it out, Fabio. I know you have something to say, so just say it.“ Fabio confirmed Cristiano suspicions instantly - with how fast the was replying, it was clear that he had just waited for Cristiano to ask.

“You could have told me, you know. I would have never told anybody!“, he said, his voice sounding a bit accusing. That Cristiano hadn’t confided in him had obviously hurt him - not that Cristiano didn’t understand or hadn’t even expected that.

Both him and Leo had known when they made the decision to keep their relationship completely private for the first few months that there would some people who would begrudge them for it. But looking back, it had been the right choice and Cristiano didn’t regret it one bit, and he didn’t doubt that Leo felt the same way. The had needed that time that they had had together, just the two of them, or they would have never been able to build such a strong relationship. The precious hours that they had spend together, sometimes just talking, other times not leaving the bed for days on end, had strengthened the bond between them immensely. He trusted Leo wholeheartedly now, and considering what they still had to face in the future, that was more important than ever.

“Listen, that I didn’t tell you has nothing to do with you personally. Leo and I decided to not tell anyone, and so we didn’t.“, he tried to explain.

“But Marcelo knew! When I called him after the news hit, he wasn’t surprised at all, he just chuckled and told me to mind my one business!“

“Oh please you know you can’t hide anything from him, that bastard found out completely on his own! Not even Jorge knew until Marcelo told him, ok?“, Cristiano said, before looking around quickly, checking if Marcelo still was under the shower. Thankfully he was - there were still some things you could count on in life, and Marcelo taking the longest in the showers was one of them - because he wasn’t keen on having to hear about just how Marcelo had found about him and Leo for the 100th time. He had been teased about it enough, and Fabio didn’t need to join in as well - one teasing Marcelo equals a whole squad anyway.

Fabio nodded knowingly at that, seemingly comforted by the fact that Cristiano hadn’t voluntarily told Marcelo, and swiftly moved on to his usual, curious self, which clearly had to ask the important questions now. “How on earth did you two even get together? I always thought you hated his guts! Plus, you’d think you’d have been too busy to fuck, especially if you really got together at the World Cup!“, his fellow Portuguese inquired.

“Well, wouldn’t you love to know..“, Cristiano drawled, but didn’t elaborate. He pressed a quick kiss to Fabio’s cheek as the other man wanted to probe some more, waved in goodbye to the rest of his teammates and exited the locker room. That was Leo’s and his secret alone and too precious a memory for him to share. He began to smile just thinking about it, about that one night in Rio that had led to so many more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo, I think this is the longest chapter to date and it was a monster to write - so much to get in!  
> What did you all think? Was Leo's dad too much of a villain? I love hearing your thoughts, so let me know :) And I will definitely write a one shot about how Cris and Leo got together - maybe even before Christmas! And to the people who maybe don't know, Isco actually has a dog named Messi. Isco *sigh*


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Babe, I know you are mostly oblivious when it comes to this“, Cristiano said, gesturing to Leo’s body and giving him an appreciating one over while he was at it. "But honestly, how can you be so blind?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which there is Kun and some phone sex action. Another long chapter, but I hope you enjoy :)

Leo went upstairs, and in the exact moment that he opened his bedroom door, he heard the front door slamming. He thought it would feel better to actually be the winner - if there was such a thing - in an argument with his father, but he actually just felt relieved. Relieved that at least for tonight, he wouldn’t have to deal with this, because he only knew too well that his father would come back. Jorge Messi was an extremely stubborn man - one of the few traits that Leo had inherited from him, he had to admit - and when he was convinced that he was in the right, there was almost nothing that could change his mind.

He stripped his clothes off until he was only in his briefs and fell face down on the bed. Yes, he had put on CR7s this morning, bite him - he missed Cristiano already and somehow felt closer to him when he wore them. When he had stripped down in the locker room it had struck him that that had maybe been a stupid idea, but nobody had noticed. Thank God for small mercies. He pulled his thick quilt over his body and put a pillow over his head for good measure. Sometimes you just had to hide under your blankets until you felt ready to face the world again, and this was definitely one of those moments.

Leo didn’t exactly fault his father for his conservative mindset as he had been raised exactly the same way, and being gay was just seen as something completely unnatural in his family’s religious eyes. That homosexuality was a sin was accepted as a fact of life who no one dared or even thought about challenging. And how Leo had learnt the hard way: Nothing eased the way of prejudice and revulsion more like ignorance and lack of knowledge. He was pretty sure that nobody in his family had (at least knowingly) ever met someone who was homosexual, and never in a million years an actual gay couple. If they knew how many gay players were out there, they would probably have a heart attack. Well, even more than the heart attack they probably already had when they had seen the picture of Cristiano and him in bed together.

The whole Messi clan probably thought that Cristiano had lead him to temptation - and into sin for that matter - but Leo had had sex with men for years. Not many of them, and not often, but between the beautiful women he had dated there had always been men. Leo had tried to suppress the fact that he felt attraction to both genders for a long time, and considering the fact that he had always been mostly surrounded by boys, and in hindsight been attracted to some of them, he had actually been pretty successful.

But then, when Leo was 15 years old and in the middle of a training camp for the national team, along came Kun. And his typical fashion, Sergio Leonel Agüero had stumbled into Leo’s life, having absolutely no clue who the fellow Argentine actually was and still managed to charm Leo to no end. With Kun in it, his life had changed, and it had changed for the better. Where Leo was quiet and shy, Kun was the exact opposite: Always talking, always smiling and always including Leo for some reason he hadn’t actually understood back then. Kun possessed a rare skill: He could draw Leo out of shell like no other person Leo had met before. Of course, Cesc and Geri had already been good friends of his at this point, but somehow, Kun was different. They had an easy friendship, and had pretty quickly become an inseparable duo at the national team.

If Leo noticed what a great body Kun had, how his laugh was the most infectious sound in the world to him, well, he just admired a friend and a fellow teammate, right? It wasn’t like he was the only one who loved being around Kun, far from it. Leo had told himself that so many times that he almost believed it, but then the 2008 Olympics happened, and the pictures of them smiling so brightly at each other, shiny gold medals around their neck, went around the world. And as so often in his life (far too many times, looking back) Geri was the one who made Leo confront the truth.

He had taken one look at Leo right after he had been back from Beijing, telling some story about Kun’s shenanigans that he didn’t even remember now, and had bluntly said: “You’re so gone for him it’s actually ridiculous. I’ve known this for years, hoping that you would actually get it yourself, but I feel like I need to tell you now so you can finally catch up to what the entire world knows anyway.“

Leo had only stared at him, speechless at first but then quickly starting to protest, but Geri had immediately waved him off. “Oh please, save us both time and stop lying to yourself. Just go and get him, I’m telling you you’ll probably never find someone who fits you height-wise AND laughs about your bad jokes as well. He’s a keeper!“ Geri had probably not expected Leo to start crying silently at that, tears that he quickly tried to hide streaming down his face, but he had actually gotten him to talk about his feelings (after holding Leo in one of his trademark crushing embraces for longer that Leo liked to admit).

And with Geri’s gentle encouragement, everything had flooded out of him: His feelings for Kun, his confusion about his bisexuality, the fear of how his family would react if they ever found out, and of course the guilt he felt for having all those feelings in the first place. With leaving Argentina so early in his childhood, all the different people he had met and the different cities, countries and cultures he had gotten to know, he as a person and many of the beliefs he had been so secure in before had changed. In his heart, he had always felt that every person had the right to live their life exactly the way they wanted to anyway, so what did it matter which gender the person you loved or had sex with had? But thinking this and never voicing it, it had never even occurred to him to apply that train of thought to himself. Everybody else could do what they wanted, love who they wanted, but he had to submit to his families wishes, which ultimately meant that he was straight and if that was the truth or not didn’t matter in the end.

He had probably never talked this much in one go before, but to finally share all of this with someone who was understanding and never questioned that what Leo had been feeling all along was actually normal and nothing to be ashamed of was such an incredible relief to him. It wasn’t that he hadn’t trusted his friends enough to confide in them, or expected Geri to react negatively (he hadn’t been blind, he had seen how Cesc and him behaved around each other), but how do you tell your friends something that you couldn’t even admit to yourself in the first place? All in all, that talk with Geri of course hadn’t magically solved everything, he had still been confused and afraid, but after it he had been in a much better place emotionally.

It had taken some more months before he had worked up the courage to talk to Kun though. And since talking had never been his forte, even less than now back then, it hadn’t gone the way Leo had planned. They had been sitting in Leo’s bed in a hotel room somewhere on a break with the national team - the proper, A national team this time, playing FIFA. As always, Kun hadn’t really cared about personal space, half sitting, half laying right next to Leo, touching from hip to thigh. Leo had been so distracted that he was already three goals behind, and when he hadn’t been able to take it anymore he just blurted out: “I love you!“ Communication really wasn’t his thing.

Kun hadn’t even taken his eyes from the TV screen. “I love you too, bro. “No, I mean I really love you!“, Leo had gotten out, somewhat desperately. “Leo, I love you too, but what’s the matter with you? I’m trashing you here!“ Of all the ways, Leo had imagined this going, that hadn’t been it. He had ended up losing six-nil and hadn’t said anything else to Kun when the game had finished. Not because he lacked courage, but if you’ve told a person that you love them two times and they can’t even imagine that you mean it in a romantic sense, what would a third time change? So he more or less threw Kun out of the bed and went to sleep, quiet and sad.

A sudden weight dipping him down on his mattress had woken him some hours later. He had blinked up blearily in Kun’s face, suddenly very close to his. Before he had come around to inquire what the hell he was doing in Leo’s bed at that time of night, Kun asked him in a rushed voice: “When you said earlier that you loved me, you meant in a brother-, friend like way, right? Nothing more? I’m just asking, so we’re on the same page, you know?“ Looking up in those brown eyes, Leo had decided that more messed-up communication would never get them anywhere and had just taken the risk, yanking Kun fully on top of him and kissing him passionately. The feeling when Kun had let out a surprised moan against his lips before kissing back with just as much want had been indescribable.

He was so lost in the memories and his own head that he almost didn’t register the sound of an incoming call, already muffled by the pillow that was still covering his ears. He looked for the phone hectically, having thrown it onto the bed before not caring where it landed. When he finally located it, he saw that the ringing didn’t come from it. Of course - it came from his tablet on the nightstand. When he finally grabbed it, he saw it was Cristiano facetiming him. Shit. Even if this indicated that his day had went well - if it hadn’t he would simply call - Cris would only get upset when he saw how the day and the argument with his father had worn Leo out.

So he took a deep breath, rubbed some color in his face and sat up quickly so he was leaning against the headboard of the bed and swiped the screen to accept the call. He had thought it would take him a lot more effort to smile, but seeing Cris’ face and the relaxed expression in it made it easy somehow. The corner of his mouth lifted automatically. That must be love, he thought absent-mindedly, before focussing on the Portuguese who was beaming back at him from his huge sofa, laptop probably filming from the table next to it. He was still in his Real Madrid training clothes and looked amazing. White just suited him.

“Cariño! Did it go as well as I hope it did?“

“I didn’t punch Perez in his stupid face, I still play for the club and practice went pretty well, so yes, it went probably as well as it could have“, Cristiano answered excitedly, a broad grin on his face. Leo couldn’t help but smirk as well. “I’m proud of you, especially because you didn’t punch him. That took a lot of willpower I probably wouldn’t have had.“ Cristiano cheerful face darkened at that. “You have no idea. That dick actually slapped me on the cheek and told me I was an attention-seeking whore for being with you. It was a pretty close call.“

Leo’s shortly improved mood sank promptly in sync with his boyfriends. If they weren’t in a huge fucking mess, the parallels between Perez and his father would probably be funny. Now, they only made him feel angry and sad. But he shouldn’t be surprised that their homophobia showed itself in almost the same way, especially because the two of them shared the exact same passions: Money and power. And they saw both of those passions threatened by the gay relationship of their biggest assets, no wonder they were being so despicable. It was like being the protagonists in one of these really bad medieval romance novels that you could buy at the airport, where the two kings didn’t want their children to marry out of love but for political reasons, he mused. Leo mentally shook his head at himself. Cristiano was really rubbing off on him. And not only in the good, ending-in-mutual-orgasms-way.

“That really seals it. What a motherfucker!“, Leo exclaimed. “I can’t believe he has the nerve to treat you like this!“ He propped the tablet against some pillows on the end of the bed and gestured wildly to undermine his words.

“Oh, I’m actually not surprised at all“, Cristiano said bitterly. “We’re just chess figures on his game board to him who he can make money with. He has the power, he controls the club, and he knows it. I just hope Iker and Sergio’s plan is actually good and we can get rid of him, or I wouldn’t want to continue playing under Perez anyway, no matter how great the team and Carlo are.“

They both went quiet at that. Cristiano actually leaving Real wasn’t something they had contemplated in earnest to this point. “But it hasn’t come this far cariño, and I’m sure it never will“, Leo said gently into the silence. “You looked so happy when you called, so the day can’t have been all bad, right? What else happened?“, he asked, hoping to turn his boyfriends thoughts away from his problems an on to more positive things.

“Shouldn’t I ask you this? How did your meeting go?“, Cristiano inquired, arching his eyebrows at him.

“It went ok, I’d say. They told me that they have my back, but we shouldn’t broadcast our relationship to the whole world because of PR reasons and the fans an so on.. But since we weren’t planning on doing that anyway I think I can live with that“, Leo summarized.

Cristiano threw him a mock-desperate look. “What a shame. I had already planned to post at least three selfies of us a day, and on special occasions, for example matchdays when we both won, a short video of our celebratory sex.“ Leo laughed at that and winked at his boyfriend. “We’d have to make lots of sex tapes then. Not that I object to that.“

“How did Neymar take it by the way? That boy has been in love with you since his first day at Barca“, Cristiano asked, half genuinely curios, half teasingly. Leo’s jaw dropped. “How did you know that?? Even I had no idea!“ His boyfriends threw him a look that could probably best described as a mix of affection and exasperation. “Babe, I know you are mostly oblivious when it comes to this“, Cristiano said, gesturing to Leo’s body and giving him an appreciating one over while he was at it. “But honestly, how can you be so blind? The boy is always looking at you like he wants to eat you and practically never stops touching you! And it’s not like you seem to be bothered by it either!“ His boyfriends voice turned a bit indignant at that. Despite feeling bad for Ney, Leo was glad to hear that he wasn’t the only one jealous in their relationship. On the contrary, knowing that Cris eyes his interactions with Neymar as much as he did his with James gave him satisfaction. He burrowed back into the pillows, suddenly much more relaxed than in the beginning of the call, and stretched his arms to display his body. That seemed to end Cris’ rant for a bit.

But then: “Wait a second - are you wearing my underwear? I’ve asked you a thousand times and now, when I’m not even there, you decide to wear them??“ Leo looked down his body innocently, as if he didn’t know the exact answer to the question. And sure enough, the blanket had just slipped down enough to show the blue waistband on which it clearly said CR7. He blushed deeply. Liking to wear his boyfriend’s underwear wasn’t something he had been quite ready to share yet. Now he would never hear the end of it - Cristiano had begged him to wear it for him for months and he had always resisted (that one morning in Zurich didn’t really count, that had been born out of necessity and not lust).

“Mhhhh.. You know how gorgeous you look when you blush? It truly goes everywhere“, Cristiano drawled, suddenly appeased by Leo’s reaction. His dark eyes wandered down Leo’s body appraisingly and lingered on his chest and belly. Suddenly Leo’s throat went dry. Cristiano just looking at him through a screen shouldn’t turn him on so much - especially when he was hundreds of miles away and couldn’t do anything about it.

“Come on baby, show me how well you wear them. I know you look amazing in them“, his fucker of boyfriend added, knowing exactly that Leo could almost never resist him if he had that lust-blown expression on his face, pupils already enlarged. But giving in so easily just wouldn’t do.

“Oh yeah? I’ll show you mine if you show me yours“, he said hotly, his look showing Cristiano that he was mentally undressing him already.

“Aw querido, did you truly think I’ll play coy now?“, the Portuguese answered and promptly pulled off his shirt, running his hands all over his muscular, broad chest, moaning shamelessly when he circled his nipples. He just knew how to play him. If there was something that Cristiano loved in bed (besides Leo fucking him of course), and generally in life if he was honest, it was showing off his body. And no matter how often Leo had seen Cristiano preening and flexing for him, it never failed to turn him on. He couldn’t imagine it ever would - miles of tanned, smooth skin, soft then hard to the touch in the exact right places - who could he ever tire of that? So when Leo’s mouth watered at the sight on the too-small screen, his fingers twitched, itching to caress that incredible body himself. He really hated being in a long-distance-relationship right now.

“Throw the blanket away, baby. I need to see you“, Cristiano said, with an urgent voice and a hungry look in his eyes. That Cristiano seemed to crave his body just as much as Leo desired his was something that would always amaze him. They were complete opposites, not only regarding their looks - but this was the exact reason why they matched so well. Paradoxical, but so be it. Leo didn’t question it anymore, he just enjoyed it.

That in mind, he complied to his boyfriends wish quickly, throwing the blanket to the end of the bed and displayed the briefs to the camera. Time to override those bitter Zurich memories with new, better ones. He was already half hard, straining against the tight underwear and Cristiano was much the same, judging the hands that had caressed his chest until this point were now wandering down to pull his sweatpants down and palm himself through his bright red briefs. At least Leo had picked a less flashy pair, he comforted himself. “You like what you see?“, he teased, running his fingers about his growing bulge and moaning softly.

“Fuck, you know I do! Someday I’ll force you to do a campaign with me“, Cris panted. “Maybe the reactions will finally make you realize how hot you are.“ Leo could feel himself blush all over again. Taking compliments wasn’t exactly his strength, even if he secretly enjoyed the praise. And didn’t Cristiano know it.

“Your body is just incredible. I already miss it“, his boyfriend added, at last discarding the underwear and beginning to stroke himself in earnest. “I miss those thick thighs around my hips, your cock pounding into me. I miss the feeling of your lips on mine.“ He enjoyed wearing them while it lasted, but now he pretty much ripped the briefs of his body and palmed himself to get some relief. Leo didn’t know what was turning him on more: The incredible sight of Cris laying on his couch, legs spread and lazily jerking off, or his words that went straight to his now fully hard and aching cock.

“Mhh, I’m sure you do. You miss me stretching you open right? Forcing myself into that tight hole, that sweet pain that comes with it?“ Leo stroked himself in earnest now, his own precome more than enough lube. His hand glided down his shaft easily, picking up speed at the moan Cristiano let out at his words. “I always put my fingers in myself when I feel empty, but nothing feels as good as you“, Cristiano murmured, eyes half closed but still managing to throw Leo a teasing look. “Show me, baby, I want to see how you do it when I’m not there“, Leo more or less begged.

His boyfriend produced some lube from the sofa cushions - so he had planned something like this, the little brat - and coated his right hand liberally. He spread his legs further, giving Leo a perfect view of his tight little hole and circled the rim slowly, but didn’t push inside. “I wish this was your tongue, querido. It would feel so good, I can almost imagine it“, Cristiano panted, before pushing a finger inside.

Leo stroked himself hurriedly now, his balls almost painfully tight. “I’d lick you open until you’re begging for it and then I’d push inside and you’d feel so perfect around me. Another finger, come on baby!“, he commanded. Cristiano arched his back prettily as he did as he was told and groaned loudly, obviously having found his prostate. His cock stood proudly against his belly, his left hand wrapped around it, and the sight of those long fingers disappearing into the Portuguese’ body was so arousing that Leo almost came on the spot. The stress of the last weeks had caught up to him and he knew he wouldn’t last long, so he decided to speed things along.

“God, you look incredible like this. But nobody and nothing fills you up as good as I do, babe. Nobody. Now come for me“, he commanded, and Cristiano obeyed as he spurted all over his hand and his muscular stomach with a cry. Coming back to his senses quickly, he lifted his hand to his mouth and sucked his come from his fingers. He stared at Leo hotly, and with an obscenely loud suck said: “If you were here, that would have been your cock.“ That was all it took for Leo, and with a loud groan he climaxed as well falling back into his pillows as all his strength left his body.

\- - -

They both cleaned up perfunctorily after, Leo with some tissues from his nightstand, Cristiano simply with his discarded shirt, and settled under their blankets, as now that the sweat on their skin cooled it started to get a bit chilly. They quietly chatted about some things, like Fabio being annoyed for having been left out, Lucho being his usual cool self in the locker room, Geri’s promise to beat anyone up for Leo, that Cristiano’s mom wanted to meet him as soon as possible and of course what Isco would call his new dog. Leo thought again about bringing up his father, but he didn’t want to burden Cristiano even more, who had so much on his plate with the situation at the club anyway. Besides, Cris with his always supportive family, who loved him to pieces and had always accepted him exactly the way he was, would and could never understand. He would be devastated for Leo, and he just couldn’t bear to see that. No, he could deal with his father and his family himself, as he had done all his life. It was better that way.

Their topics grew more random quickly, and soon enough they were both really sleepy, and with promises to text soon and an unspoken I love you on his lips, Leo disconnected the call and fell into a much needed, deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help it - I had to sneak some Leo/Kun in there, I just love them together. And I'll of course tell more of their story, it won't end there ;)  
> How was the smut? Phone sex turned out to be much more difficult to write than I imagined! Tell me what you think lovelies and have a great weekend!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo wasn’t the only one who hid under his blankets when the world around him got to much to handle. Cristiano and Real lose to Atletico.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter this time as I have been crazy busy this week (but I got the job I wanted, so YAY)! I hope you guys enjoy and tell me what you think, feedback is always appreciated!

Cristiano could hear the screams and the shouting already, the stadium thrumming with the excited voices of ten thousands of people. This was it - his first game after the forced break, and lucky as he has been in the past few weeks, it of course had to be an away game, and then against Atletico of all teams. He would feel much more secure if the match was at home at the Bernabeu, especially considering derbys at the Calderón were always extra tough.

Usually he wasn’t this tense before a game, and a la Liga game at that, even it was be a derby, but today the pressure was immense. The press had been relentless the past few days, probably spurred on by Perez, and if he didn’t perform well, meaning score some goals and help the team win, he didn’t even want to imagine what he would have to read in the papers tomorrow. Cristiano was used to high expectations, he placed them on himself with every game he played, but the last thing he wanted to do was give Perez more ammunition to get rid of him, not to mention to the people who didn’t want to see him play football anymore now they knew he was gay. He tried to shake the thoughts of, they wouldn’t help him to focus and win the game, but it was hard.

They were standing in the tunnels, and it was seconds before they would go on the pitch. Marcelo was standing behind him, chatting to Pepe but having a firm hand on Cristiano’s shoulder as if he sensed Cristiano’s tension - knowing him, he probably did. Normally that would make him feel better, and maybe it did a bit, but even Iker’s and Sergio’s encouragement earlier, and their clearly honest promises that they would have his back no matter what, could calm his nerves.

But then he felt a little, sweaty hand take his, pulling him forward gently, and he looked down at the face of his mascot. The girl was maybe five or six with dark brown hair, and judging by the way she stared at him, she was too shy to say anything but clearly in awe of him. He automatically smiled down at her and gripped her hand back tightly as they started to walk out of the tunnels. She held on to him just as strongly, and as they entered the pitch, he blended out all the shouts and the screams and only focussed on the feeling of reassurance and trust that little hand gave him. He took a deep breath as his feet touched the grass and steeled himself.

 

\- - -

 

**_Ronaldo and Real Madrid Smashed in Madrid Derby_ **

_Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid teammates left the field at the Estadio Vicente Calderón under the boos and curses of their fans. After the 0-4 loss against the Madrid rivals, in which goals of Tiago, Saúl, Griezmann and Mandžukić brought Atletico a much deserved win, Ronaldo was in the centre of much criticism from fans and Madrid club officials alike as his performance today was deemed more than poorly._

_The Portuguese international had been playing his first game after his relationship with Barcelona striker Lionel Messi had been made public by Marca and both of the players took a short break from club football to escape the press. While Messi didn’t seem bothered by the time off the pitch as he scored against Bilbao and ensured that Barcelona won the match 5-2, Ronaldo didn’t seem like himself on the pitch. The vicious and sometimes homophobic slurs that were directed at him might have distracted him, but he is a professional and should have acted that way._

_His captain, living Real Madrid legend Iker Casillas defended him, saying that the defeat “is on all of us, to blame a single person for the loss is ridiculous“, but many Madrid media outlets seem to disagree with-_

“We are here, Sir“, Leo’s driver said and drew him away from the article he had been reading on his phone. And they really had arrived at Cristiano’s house in Madrid already, which lay there in complete darkness. Leo had come here as soon as possible, boarding a private jet immediately after his own game had finished and he couldn’t reach Cristiano, who had apparently locked himself away in his home after the defeat. When he stepped off the pitch he had hoped he could celebrate their two wins with Cristiano by maybe repeating the great Skype session they had had last week, but he had only needed to look questioningly at Pepe, and the look in his agents face had told him everything he needed to know.

But even then he didn’t think they would lose like that, especially considering what a great season they had played so far. Reading that everybody blamed the loss on Cristiano made him angry and sad at the same time. Angry, because even if Cris had not played well, he surely wasn’t the only one who hadn’t delivered, and Perez definitely had his fingers in the extreme media reaction, and sad, because he knew Cristiano felt bad either way and the shouts and insults of some so-called fans sure as hell didn’t make him feel any better about the already shitty situation.

He stepped out of the car, his duffle already in his hands and quickly thanked Jorge's driver before climbing the few stairs to the front door. Leo had never been as glad as now that Cristiano had given him the door code to his house, because he knew the Portuguese wouldn’t have let anybody in, he was stubborn like that. When he entered it and the door opened with a soft click, finding all the lights were turned off in the house as he had suspected. He instinctively knew where to find his boyfriend and his feet found the way easily even in the darkness. Leo wasn’t the only one who hid under his blankets when the world around him got to much to handle.

And sure enough, when he pushed the bedroom door open, all he could make out was a lump with the form of a person on the huge bed under what looked like five blankets. His heart lurched with worry and love as he crossed the distance in three short steps and his boyfriend emerged from his blanket fort when he heard Leo softly calling his name. Cristiano didn’t seem to know how to react, a look of surprise in his face, but his desire to just be left alone obviously fighting with the relief of having Leo here to comfort him.

With Cristiano obviously not knowing if he should hide under his blankets again or open his arms for Leo, the Argentine took the decision for him, throwing his duffle and jacket in the corner before he kneeled next to Cristiano on the bed and gripped his face softly, placing a kiss on his forehead. “I’m so sorry cariño. I’m so sorry, for everything“, Leo whispered, his face even more pale than usual as he looked down at Cristiano with concerned eyes. Cristiano wanted to turn away to hide his face, but Leo’s hands on his cheeks were holding him gently but firmly and to be able to look him in the eyes.

“It’s not you fault. You did what you could, even with what all those people shouted at you. Nobody could have done more.“ Cristiano’s eyes filled with tears, but he stayed silent, not knowing what to say to that. Leo’s words might have some truth in them, but they couldn’t wash away the guilt that he felt at the terrible loss.

Leo sensed that, as he was much the same after losing - there were no words which could really end that feeling having failed, not only your club and team but yourself as well. Both Cristiano and him placed extremely high expectations on themselves, which was part of why they excelled at what they did, but on the other side defeat was much more painful that way. Not to mention the slurs that Cristiano had had to hear today. His boyfriend might always hold his head high, trying not to show a trace of emotion, but he was a sensitive person underneath all of that bravado, Leo knew too well.

So he just pulled his hoodie over his head and stripped down to his underwear before settling down under the blankets. He drew Cristiano’s body close to his, his boyfriend only wearing thin pajama pants, and the Portuguese immediately burrowed into his warmth, hiding his face as he laid his head on Leo’s chest. Normally Leo would try to cheer him up, to get him to talk and open up to him, but today was different. And so he just held on tightly, stroked his face, his arms, his flat stomach, everywhere he could reach, and let his hands do the talking for him. Cristiano would speak to him when he was ready, for now all he could do was be there for him.

Cristiano had been - totally unexpected at that time of course - his biggest support when they lost the World Cup last year, and now he had the chance to at least give something back for that.  Slowly, Cristiano’s breath evened out and some of the tension left his body as he fell asleep in Leo’s arms, and the Argentine allowed himself to indulge in reminiscences of what had brought them together that night in Rio in the first place. He might have lost the final and the World Cup that afternoon at the Maracanã, and the defeat pained him to his day, but what he won that day, without even realizing it at the time, was something he wouldn’t exchange for anything. Leo smiled softly at the sleeping man beside him and slowly drifted off himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ending the chapter on that note is not a coincidence of course! ;) I'll post the story of how Leo and Cristiano got together and had their first time after the World Cup (hopefully in two parts) around Christmas, as a little thank you to all of you who have left Kudos and commented on this! <3


	13. Flashback Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All of Leo’s emotions seemingly flooded into the kiss, anger and sadness and relief that it was finally over, and maybe it should have tasted bitter, but to Cristiano it just tasted sweet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first of two parts of how Leo and Cristiano met and got together, as a little thank you to all of you who have left Kudos and commented on this :) The next part will be up in a few days. I'm actually pretty proud of this, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you again, and Merry Christmas if you're celebrating it <3

****Cristiano sat in one of the exclusive VIP boxes at the Maracanã, his injured leg with the thickly bandaged knee propped up on a chair before him, and watched his biggest rival play the Word Cup final. If it had been his choice, he would be at home in Portugal with his family right now, but the doctors had forbidden him to fly, something with the cabin pressure and blood flow in his leg. Tendonitis was a bitch. And so he had stayed in Brazil as he had been told and spent most time in his hotel room sulking and watching the games. Going out in the group stage had hurt, but deep down they had all known that the team didn’t have the potential to make it to the end of the competition anyway. With some astonishment he had watched Germany literally trash Brazil in the semis - he really had seen nothing like that in a national tournament before - and then Argentina edged out the Netherlands. Before he knew it Jorge had talked him into watching the final with him - after assuring him ten times that the press would keep quiet about it and they would leave him in peace.

He didn’t really have a favorite between Germany and Argentina, having played with many players from both national teams like Angel, Pipita, Toni and Sami, but he still was really fond of Mesut, so if the Germans took the trophy home he would be especially glad for him. That boy deserved some recognition after the treatment Real and Perez had given him. 

It was an intense game, and going into extra-time, Cristiano wasn’t sure who would come out on top. But then Götze scored an incredible goal (which he couldn’t have done better himself, he hated to admit), which shattered Argentina’s dreams and fulfilled all of Germany’s in the exact same second. Football was cruel like that, and Cristiano could speak from experience.

With the final whistle, the men on the field cried two types of tears, of relief and utter joy, and of devastation and heartbreak, and he was glad for Mesut and the others, he truly was, but the one person his eyes couldn’t seem to leave was Lionel Messi. Cristiano only knew too well what a feeling it was to carry a nation’s entire pressure on your shoulders, and with Messi, it were especially slim shoulders. And so all he felt while watching the other man on the field was sympathy and understanding. The fans and the press would be vicious, like they so often were in defeat, and they would be happy to blame Messi, as if one player, even such a magnificent one as him, could win you a team game trophy alone. Being captain must have only added to the pressure. 

When he saw the little Argentine accept his golden ball for the best player of the tournament with so much dignity even if he must see it as a humiliation right now, his respect for him grew. He had always respected him of course, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to be better than him, to score more goals, give more assists, win more games. That’s just the way he was, the way they both were, he’d like to think. The media loved to blow everything out of proportion though, so nobody really believed him when he said that their was no rivalry between them - no personal one anyway. 

For all Cristiano knew, Messi was a good guy, shy and quiet, but generally liked and admired by everyone who knew him, and the way all of his teammates talked about him even though he outshone them all spoke miles. The only thing that irked Cristiano about him was how crazily humble he always was, but even he could admit to himself that that was ridiculous complaint to have about a person. And then the Barca forward had a great body (and booty for that matter) on top of that and was pretty gorgeous in general. Still. Nobody had to know that Cristiano enjoyed the view whenever he saw Messi running around shirtless after a game.

So yes, he actually felt bad for him. God knows how he himself would feel if he lost a World Cup final with Portugal, he would blame himself more than the entire world press could. Lost in thoughts, he wrenched his eyes from the Argentine and stood up to follow Jorge to get something to eat. Four in the afternoon really was a weird time for a final and by now he really was hungry. His knee throbbed and he felt down somehow, so after a quick bite he was eager to get back to his hotel room, take some painkillers and just rest a bit with, preferably with a properly ridiculous telenovela on. He just loved South American soaps. And if he was lucky and the doctors gave him the green light, he would maybe be able to go home tomorrow or the day after that. 

In between shaking hands with what it felt like was half of the entire Maracanã on the way out, he had lost Jorge somewhere in the tunnels. Typical, that man just knew everyone. As Cristiano wasn’t especially good on foot these days, and Jorge was his ride back to the hotel, he just opened the next best door on the right in the hope he would find his agent again. The room was pitch black, and he was on the verge of closing it again because he certainly wouldn’t find Jorge in some dingy storage room which vaguely smelt of old leather, but then a quiet but firm voice swore at him in drawled Spanish: “Here to gloat? Shut the fucking door and leave me in peace, alright?!“

His eyes had to adjust to the lack of light for a second, but then saw from whom the voice had come from: Lionel Messi, still in his Albiceleste jersey, hiding in the corner of the room. He had lost, or more likely, thrown away his medal along the way and even though his body language screamed defeat and sadness (he had curled in on himself so much that pretty much all Cristiano could make out was his face and the white and light blue of his jersey and socks), he still managed to glare so darkly at the Portuguese that he involuntarily took a step back and almost lost his footing.

And Cristiano, and he would never know exactly exactly why when remembering this moment, did the exact opposite as he turned around to check if someone was watching him (nobody was) and hobbled into the room, closing the door behind him and engulfing the room in darkness once again. 

The other man protested loudly, telling Cristiano in no uncertain terms to get the hell out, but he just ignored it, as he did so often with things that he didn’t want to hear. With a pained grunt, he slid down the door to sit down and effectively block the door with his body. The last thing both of them needed right now was for the press to be able to write that Lionel Messi and Cristiano hid in a darkened storage room, surrounded by nothing but empty shelves, together after the World Cup final.

Sitting down, he got a good look at the Argentine who still stared at him in less than a friendly manner. There was a bit of light flooding in from under the door, and it was just enough to make out that his kit was dirty, the captain’s armband still tightly wound around his arm, and that he was even more pale than usual, his face practically glowing in the darkness. His body language had changed the second he realized that Cristiano wouldn’t leave him alone, and now he sat there, his back straight against the wall behind him and his head held high, every inch Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina who sure as hell wouldn’t show any weakness to his Real Madrid rival. Maybe going in here had been a bad decision after all. What should he even say to him?

It was completely silent for a few moments as he contemplated that, and when Messi apparently came to the conclusion that Cristiano didn’t plan on going anywhere sometime soon and also hadn’t start gloating instantly as he might have expected him to do, he changed tactics and started to speak in an impatient voice: “What are you even doing here? I thought you flew home injured two weeks ago!“, Messi inquired to Cristiano’s surprise. He wouldn’t have thought the other man had paid attention to that. 

“That’s the story we told the press. My knee is still too swollen to fly, something about the blood pressure apparently. So I had to stay in Brazil for longer and my agent dragged my ass out of my hotel room to watch the final so I’d stop sulking“, Cristiano shrugged, surprising himself with his honesty. But he sensed that the Argentine would notice immediately if he bullshitted him, and for some reason he didn’t want the other man to storm out on him. 

“But what are you doing _here_?“, Messi raised his hands and gestured around. “We have barely spoken three sentences in all the time we’ve known each other, you’re supposed to be my biggest rival, and let’s be honest, most of the time you just ignore me!“

Cristiano hesitated. He didn’t really know the answer to the question himself. 

“Let’s say that I can empathize with the feeling of letting your country down, your teammates down. The feeling of not having done enough. Thinking if I had just run more, shot more, were that one step faster maybe we would have won..“, he trailed of. The agonized look in Lionel’s eyes showed him that his words reflected what thoughts were going through the Argentine’s head right now. 

“But what you say is true. Maybe we would have won, if I had done more“, Messi answered in that typically quiet voice of his, barely audible even though there were barely two meters separating them in the small room.

“Lionel-“, the Portuguese started to reply but immediately got interrupted.

 “-Call me Leo,“ the other man commanded in a tone that left no room for refusal.

“Leo.“ Cristiano frowned a bit at himself at how easy the nickname came of his lips. “You know that’s not true. Of course, maybe if you or everyone else in the team for that matter, had made different decisions in the game, it maybe would have ended differently. But that’s football - and life for that matter. But you know as well as I do that you gave it your all. Everybody could see that.“

Leo just stared at his feet again. Even if he knew deep down that there was truth to what Cristiano just told him, it would take a while to acknowledge it. The pain of the defeat was still too fresh, and no words would ever truly be able to console him about missing out on that trophy. Cristiano knew that, because he would be exactly the same. It was weird, but sitting on the cold ground and looking at the man he had always seen as his biggest competition, Cristiano realized that under the jersey was a man who maybe was not that different from him. Who would have thought?

“I don’t need your sympathy“, Leo answered when he finally looked up, but there was no bite in his words. He knew Cristiano was right. 

“I know you don’t want my pity and I won’t give it to you anyway. I’m telling it how it is: In football, you win some and you lose some. All you can do is give it your best shot and hope for a bit of luck. You didn’t have that luck today, and so you lost.“ The Argentine at last looked him in the eyes at that. “It still hurts though. It has to, or you would know you didn’t play with your heart“, Cristiano added gently. 

They were silent for a bit, both thinking about what Cristiano had said. While Cristiano wished he could analyze his own losses as rationally and just accept them as something he couldn’t change anyway, Leo probably thought the same thing. But that just was the way they were, if they didn’t hate losing they wouldn’t be what they were, wouldn’t have won so much, wouldn’t be as great as they were. But still, if you had ambition and drive like them it also took its toll. 

“Why are you telling me this? There’s no reason for you to cheer me up. We don’t play together, we’re not friends, we barely know one another“, Leo said after a while, sounding genuinely curious.

“As I said before, I can imagine what’s it like being in your shoes. And I’m not a complete asshole, you know? I like to win, and winning against you means winning against the only person who can truly challenge me and that brings me great satisfaction. But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect you or can be civil. I just never felt like we were in a normal setting without ten people watching when we saw each other, so I didn’t really know what to say to you“, Cristiano shrugged. Leo slowly nodded at that.

“But don’t get used to me being all nice and stuff - when we play against each other next season, I’ll still kick your ass!“, Cristiano teased. When he saw a small smile appear on Leo’s face at that, his heart lurched a bit. He had a thing for Leo’s goofy smiles. 

“I wouldn’t want it any other way“, the Argentine answered, still smiling softly at him.

“Good. Me neither. What would be the fun in that?“

The glint in Leo’s eyes seemed to mean that he agreed. But his facial expression quickly turned tense and somber again and he shook his head. “I’ve got to get back to the team. I’m the captain after all, hiding here won’t help anyone“, Leo stated with a sigh and stood up. 

“But… Thank you. Sincerely. I needed someone to draw me out of my head a bit“, he added, sounding like he meant it. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who looked at the other man in the room with new eyes after their conversation. “You’re welcome“, Cristiano simply answered. And Leo was. He was glad he had been able to help him a bit. His decision to enter the room had been a good one after all. 

“You coming?“, the Argentine asked then and looked down at Cristiano, who was still sitting down against the door and effectively blocked Leo’s way out. 

Cristiano nodded, figuring the best way for getting up out without putting weight on his left leg - his knee ached and he didn’t really want to fall on his nose in front of Leo. The Argentine politely waited a few moments before it dawned on him. “You can’t get up, can you? Come on, I’ll help you“, he said with a gentle voice. “We’ve all been there“, he added, as if he knew that Cristiano hated to have accept help from others, and held his hand out. 

Cristiano looked for any signs of pity in his eyes, but found none. Just understanding. Understanding he could handle, he even welcomed it from someone who actually knew what he was going through. So he sighed, pulled his good leg up and put all his weight on it while grabbing Leo’s outstretched hand. When he felt that warm skin on his, it was like a jolt went through Cristiano’s body. 

The smaller man hoisted him up with seemingly no effort, even using a bit too much strength, pulling Cristiano, who suppressed a pained wince, almost flush against his body. They stared at each other in the dark of the room, two sets of brown eyes wide as neither of them let go of the other’s hand, so close that their faces would be touching if they were the same size. It was like there was a magnetic pull between them, it was like nothing Cristiano had felt ever before. Leo smelled like grass and sweat and he automatically breathed him in, the scent calming and enticing at the same time. Somehow they gravitated towards each other and as he leaned down, Leo simultaneously stretched up, and when their lips met it just felt right, like he should have been doing this his entire life. His brain might have screamed at him if he was stupid, this was Lionel Messi, this could never end well, somebody could walk in and see, but a few seconds into the kiss Cristiano forgot everything around him. 

Leo’s lips were rough against his, he could feel the dents of his teeth where he had probably bitten them in the game, but somehow they molded perfectly against his, hot and wet, and when Leo’s tongue swept his bottom lip questioningly he moaned quietly. The sound seemed to set something free in Leo, because the kiss turned from gentle and hesitant to passionate and dirty in a mere moment. The Argentine pretty much slammed Cristiano against the door, gripped his hair with one hand and his cheek with the other and coaxed his mouth open, his tongue practically devouring him. All of Leo’s emotions seemingly flooded into the kiss, anger and sadness and relief that it was finally over, and maybe it should have tasted bitter, but to Cristiano it just tasted sweet. It was like being taken apart bit by bit, but Cristiano gave back as good as he could, his hand slipping under Leo’s jersey, caressing his back and waist in an attempt to soothe. 

The hard muscles under his hands felt amazing but he had checked out Leo’s ass for years (discretely of course), itching to touch but never able to, and so he would never miss that opportunity. His hands slipped down, grabbing Leo’s ass firmly, pulling his body even more soundly against his, and they both let out a groan against each others mouths when their clothed erections rubbed against each other for the first time. They parted long enough to be able to look at each other properly, and what Cristiano saw made his breath go even faster. Leo’s eyes were almost black, his thick hair standing up in all directions, mussed up by Cristiano’s eager hands, and his before so pale face was covered in a faint blush. But nothing drew his attention like Leo’s lips, now deeply red and shining. He looked gorgeous. 

Before Cristiano could tell him so, Leo muttered: “Fuck. You look incredible“, and descended on him all over again. Their bodies were still flush against each other, and Cristiano felt Leo’s hard erection against his thigh. He itched to get down on his knees and suck him, but somehow their kisses turned more slow, but not less passionate, and he lost himself in the feeling of Leo’s mouth again. The other man’s lips moved against his as if they had done this a thousand times already, sucking softly on his bottom lip. His hands caressed Cristiano’s neck, his chest, his back, everywhere he could reach, while the Portuguese still enjoyed the feeling of Leo’s firm ass under his fingers, squeezing appreciatively. He couldn’t say how long they had stood there, just kissing, but after some time the kiss found a natural end until they just stood there, embracing each other silently. Cristiano absentmindedly noticed how adorable Leo looked, standing on his tiptoes to compensate some of their considerable height difference, but it was probably better not to mention it. He had absolutely no intention to dampen the mood and ruin the possibility of more kisses like that. And if he had any say in it, it wouldn’t end with only kisses.

But then, all at once, Leo loosened his grip and stood back to look at the Portuguese. “I… I have to go! I’ll see you, ok?“, he said, still panting a bit, as he quickly adjusted his shorts in an attempt to hide his erection, not that they were able to hide much. 

Cristiano stepped aside to let him out of door on autopilot, more than a bit disappointed by those shallow words which had come out of nowhere. Being left behind like this, after what just happened, hurt and he felt his heart constrict in his chest. How stupid of him to think it meant something more than living out the post-game adrenaline rush, that there was a real connection between them.

Leo already had his hand on the doorknob, but hesitated for a second, before he suddenly turned around and crushed his lips against Cristiano’s once more. He ran his hands through the Portuguese hair, pulling him down and whispered in his ear: “Don’t forget this, you hear me? How we feel together… I know I won’t.“ 

He threw the other man a hot look and bit firmly into Cristiano’s neck, sucking on the spot so hard it hurt as the blood rushed to the surface. Cristiano legs felt like jelly by now, and Leo had bitten him so high up his throat that everybody would see the mark, but protesting was far from his mind. All he could do was moan in a mix of pain and pleasure. 

Leo looked at his work, obviously more than happy with the result, and pressed one last kiss to the lovebite on his throat before opening the door. And then he was gone and Cristiano could only stare after him until he was engulfed in darkness once again, hand absentmindedly touching the bright, aching mark Leo had left on him for the world to see, and completely oblivious that those thirty minutes in a dark, dingy storage room in Rio de Janeiro would change his life forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo.. What did you think? Any favorite parts? :) I might have to add that I'm German, so that particular night was one of the best nights in my life - we partied on the streets till morning. I still felt bad for Leo though ;)


	14. Flashback Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo stared at the hotel door in front of him as if it could answer the questions plaguing him. Go in, and risk everything for something that might turn out to be nothing? Or just turn around and live with the knowledge that he had passed up something potentially incredible, just because he couldn’t muster up the courage?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part 2 of a thing I'm actually proud of ;) I hope you enjoy - thank you so much for all of the nice, encouraging comments I've gotten. Because of you the chapter is already up today and pretty long for my standards (longest in the whole fic)!

 

Leo stared at his reflection in the mirror of his hotel bathroom. His lips were still swollen and red, and he touched them as if that would bring the feeling of Cristiano’s perfect mouth on his back. And what a glorious feeling that had been.

He still didn’t know how he had managed to walk out of that room like this _and_ also behaved kind of normally in the next few hours. But when he had walked back to the locker room to get back to his team and fulfill his duties as captain, which he had neglected so much before, he had almost functioned on autopilot. He had hugged, wiped away tears or simply cried them with his teammates, and just tried to help everyone as good as he could by being there for them. And when he had found himself in the centre of attention, looking at a devastated Masche in the corner (who was especially down because apparently not even nearly killing Schweinsteiger had been enough to win) and at Kun’s usual so cheerful face sad and closed off, his mouth just somehow repeated the words that Cristiano had told him before:

“In football, you win some and you lose some. I don’t need to tell you that. All you can do is give it your best shot and hope for a bit of luck. We did, and we didn’t have that luck today, and so we lost. It still hurts though, so much“, he had stated, voice getting louder with every word even as tears started to well up again. Leo wiped away the tears with the back of his hand and stared at his squad fiercely. Win or lose, he was so proud of them. “But it has to, or all of us would know we didn’t play with our heart. But we did, and I couldn’t have asked for more. I’m so proud of every single one of you“, he got out, before his voice gave out. 

It had been silent for a while, everyone fighting with their emotions until Kun, in typical Kun fashion, had somehow managed to say exactly the right thing at the right time. “I love you losers, but I love our captain most. And now let’s get hammered! We fucking deserve it!“

And so they had done. Gloriously. Now everybody was scattered all over their rooms after the party (if you could call it that, is was more of a mourning drinking-orgy) had started at Leo’s and Kun’s suite. The both of them had shared a room at the national team since the very first time they had been called up together, and even though they weren’t an item anymore, the tradition had stuck. There were very few people who made feel Leo as comfortable around as Kun, and he was so glad that their separation hadn’t changed that. It also showed him that their parting had been for the best, sad as it had been at the time. 

The party had been going strong for a few hours at that point, and Leo had been exhausted - and still was. Talking had never been his strong suit, but he had done nothing else for all that time, trying to comfort and encourage. It had been emotionally draining to say the least, with the defeat gnawing on his own bones as well and the thought of that… encounter with Cristiano always on the back of his mind. He had knocked down a drink in the beginning but had no time to top that one up, so he was uncomfortably sober with everyone around him piss drunk. 

When he had felt a hand on his elbow after finally having a moment for himself in a dark corner, he had steeled himself again and put on his captain face, but then a familiar body draped against his back and arms wrapped around his waist, and he instantly relaxed. He would recognize Kun’s embrace from thousands. “You need a few minutes to yourself. Just breathe. I’ll cover for you“, he had whispered in his ear before pushing him into the enormous bathroom and closing the door behind him.  

And now, here he was, staring at himself in the mirror like a character from some bad South American telenovela and contemplating what to do about Cristiano. He ran his hands through his hair, a nervous habit of him. Them kissing, being close to each other, had just felt right, like they should have been doing this since they had first met. Leo shook his head at himself in the mirror. It wasn’t like him to get all emotional and cheesy, but he had to admit to himself that what had happened in that storage room in the Maracanã mere hours before felt like nothing he had ever experienced in his life. Never in his wildest dreams he would have thought that the man everybody saw as his biggest rival was someone he could feel such an instant connection with, such a magnetic pull to.

If he was being honest, it scared him. Especially because he didn’t know if this attraction was just his head fucking with him after the crazy post-game adrenaline rush and then awful low following it, or if it was actually real. But unlike a character from one of those horrible telenovelas - which of course he had never watched or anything - he wouldn’t ask himself that same question for months without doing anything to actually find out the answer. There only was one way to find out. So he got his phone out to make a few calls. The team was so drunk by now, nobody would notice if he was gone, and Kun, the only person who definitely would, would just assume he had needed some time for himself and had conveniently vanished. When the other person answered on the first ring, Leo smirked. It did have some advantages to be Lionel Messi.

 

\- - -

 

The door before him was so unassuming and yet familiar. Leo had seen hundreds of the same kind in his life. Black, thick hotel doors which he usually didn’t really take in anymore, just opened and walked straight in without a real look. But now he stared at it like it could give him the answer to the question which had plagued him for the last minutes. Go in, and risk everything for something that might turn out to be nothing? Or just turn around and live with the knowledge that he had passed up something potentially incredible, just because he couldn’t muster up the courage? He had felt so self-secure and confident before when he had bitten the Portuguese and then left him there, panting and looking after him, but that cockiness had had a lot to do with the heat of the moment. Even though he had technically made his mind up when he had made his calls, now he had had the time to actually think it over during the drive here, and that made the decision to be brave so much harder. 

But before, Cristiano must have toyed with the thought of leaving Leo in that storage room by himself too. Deciding to not taking any risks and just leaving, pretending that nothing had happened, that he hadn’t seen Lionel Messi, world footballer and captain of the Argentine national team curled up on himself in a dark room, hiding from the world and his responsibilities. But he hadn’t. He had walked straight in and tipped Leo’s world upside down without hesitation. And if Cristiano had been brave enough, then he owed him the same courage. So he took a deep breath, willed himself to relax a little, and knocked firmly on the door, once, then twice. 

It was silent for a few moments, and Leo already cursed his luck, because honestly, he himself probably wouldn’t even hear someone knocking at his door at 1 in the morning, and even if he heard it, he would tell them to go fuck themselves, and simply turn around and go back to sleep. But then there were quiet sounds coming from behind the door, and Leo could hear feet shuffling before it unlocked with a click and a very sleepy but very beautiful Cristiano was staring at him in surprise.

“Do you always open the door to strangers in the middle of the night without checking who’s there?“, Leo blurted out, crazily nervous and highly distracted by the other man’s bare, muscular chest.

“If I hope there’s a hot Argentine standing behind it, then yes“, Cristiano shot back, suddenly looking very alert for someone who had obviously been asleep a few moments ago. He grabbed Leo by the arm and promptly pulled him inside, explaining: “Wouldn’t do for someone to see you here, now would it?“

Leo gladly let him. The other man smelt amazing, and he had to admit there was something in letting Cristiano manhandle him for a second. “I stood there for the last ten minutes, so probably the entire hotel has seen me already“, he answered unthinkingly when the door had closed behind him. He immediately mentally berated himself: Of all the things he could have said, these two really had been the most stupid options. 

But Cristiano only seemed to amused. “Had to work up the courage to actually knock, hm?“, he said affectionately. “Good. That shows me you’re not insane or dumb. Or both.“

“So these are your criteria? Good to know.“

“What can I say, I’m easy like that.“

They just smiled at each other for a second. Leo finally had the time to take in Cristiano completely: His usually tamed hair sprung free, curling softly, practically inviting him to rake through it, and the sight of that muscular body, only clad in a pair of tight CR7’s made him think much less PG things. But he pushed the thoughts aside when the Portuguese lead him to the main room of the suite with a nod of his head. He followed him into a huge bedroom, which looked quite lived in for a hotel room, with lots of clothes, books and magazines thrown around. 

“So do you want a drink? You look like you need a drink. You also deserve a drink“, Cristiano asked, his arms flailing about before crossing them in front of his body nervously. That seemed to remind him that he was half naked, and he was already reaching to a Nike shirt that lay carelessly on a chair next to him to cover himself up. That Leo wasn’t the only one who was feeling quite nervous about this somehow made him feel more secure. So when he Cristiano’s grabbed his arm to stop him dressing, and threw the shirt away, he simply stated - and it really was a statement: “No. I don’t want a drink. And you won’t need this.“

“Oooh, you really seem pretty sure of yourself for someone who waited this long in front of my door“, Cristiano said with an arched eyebrow, but he sounded intrigued. Leo took in his wide pupils, and his voice which had sounded a bit breathless.

“Oh, I think I’m right to be sure“, Leo murmured and stepped closer to caress Cristiano’s cheekbone. The other man’s eyes closed at that and his eyelashes fluttered. He really was too pretty to let Leo near him, but someway somehow they both seemed to feel that pull to each other. And Leo surely wouldn’t be the one complaining. His hand wandered from the sharp cheekbone under his fingers into Cristiano’s hair, which was even softer without all the gel in it. Leo pulled Cristiano down to him, simultaneously leaning up on his tiptoes - God, how he hated being small sometimes - and pressed a kiss to the Portuguese welcoming lips. What started chaste didn’t stay that way for long as Cristiano’s strong arms winded around him, and an insisting tongue pushed for entrance, which Leo granted gladly. They were heavily making out for a few minutes, and somehow it felt even better than the first time, their mouths even more naturally in-synch with each other. But Leo was yearning to feel bare skin on his and so he steered Cristiano towards the bed. Better to get this horizontal, and Cristiano seemed to agree as he settled down on the dark sheets and leaned against the headboard to stare at Leo invitingly. 

Looking at him lying there, wearing those tight ridiculous CR7 briefs that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, Leo felt hot all over. That bastard even had the nerve to part his thighs, already half hard, and only smirked when he returned Leo’s hungry look. Any trace of shyness and nervousness had long vanished - the Portuguese was back to his confident self, and Leo loved it. All that he wanted was to basically jump the other man and drape himself over him completely. But he couldn’t, as a look down at Cristiano’s thickly bandaged left knee reminded him. So, practical as Leo was, he just decided to just straddle the other man and throw his own shirt away in the process. Cristiano’s waist wasn’t particularly comfortable with its sharp hipbones, but it would do for now, and besides, he could feel the other man’s erection against his thigh. 

“You sure don’t waste any time, do you?“, Cristiano teased, and thrust up hard. They both gasped at, but Leo immediately used the not inconsiderable power in his thighs to prevent Cristiano from moving. This felt too good, even with the two layers of fabric still separating them.

“Oh, I plan to take my time, believe me. I’ve got absolutely no interest in having this end in ten minutes. That would be an absolute waste“, Leo said ran his hands over that incredible chest like he had itched to do since he had first seen Cristiano standing in the door, and let out a groan at the feeling of the soft yet muscular skin under his fingers. “Fuck. Seriously? It’s like your photoshopped or something!“

Cristiano only smirked at that and flexed proudly. “Thanks“, was his simple, proud, answer. Leo couldn’t even begrudge him for his confidence. Sure, many people would see it as arrogance, but Cristiano had worked hard for everything he had, including his body. His incredible body that Leo vowed to wring every ounce of possible pleasure from.

Deserved as his cockiness might be, the Argentine didn’t plan to inform him about that, and so simply nibbled softly at Cristiano’s collarbone in response. The Portuguese let out a very undignified yelp, but judging by the hands that grabbed his hair and pushed him down, it was a yelp of enjoyment. It was Leo’s turn to smirk against that tanned skin. 

People might think he was only good at football, but Leo had a considerable other talent. It maybe wasn’t what had made him rich, but it brought him almost as much fun and satisfaction as football. Almost. Making it short: He was amazing in bed. He would never brag about it out loud of course, but he was a quick learner and immediately noticed what his partner liked - or in this case hadn’t known that they liked it until Leo did it. There probably weren’t many people who had the nerves to bite Cristiano Ronaldo when they felt like it. Or mark him up, for that matter. So Leo gave in to the temptation to lick at those delicious freckles that were scattered all over Cristiano’s toned shoulders and chest. The other man moaned softly, his arms running up and down Leo’s sides, caressing his hip bones. It was more than distracting, but Leo sat his mind to the task ahead: Make Cristiano feel as good as humanly possible, because Leo knew hours after their first kiss that this was something he wanted again, and nothing would ensure a repeat more than amazing sex. And they always said tactics weren’t his thing. 

His mouth wandered upwards, sucking on Cristiano’s neck, but just as he thought about biting another mark into the dark skin: “Hey, stop it! I already look like someone mauled me“, Cristiano complained and weakly tried to push Leo away, pointing towards the lovebite Leo had left back at the Maracanã. Yeah. Definitely a case of not knowing that he liked it before Leo had done it to him and now the not really serious protest that usually followed after.

In answer to that, Leo only roughly pushed him back into the sheets and bit the exact spot again, licking over it to soothe the abused skin a little. But it had already been a deep red before and by now was an almost obscene purple. The sight of his mark, which would take days to fade and would be visible for every person who saw the Portuguese in that time, made his cock twitch. He gave himself a few perfunctorily strokes to calm down a bit - he definitely didn’t want to come before burying himself into that perfect body - and batted Cristiano’s hand away which had snaked downwards. The other man pouted at that, but didn’t say anything, watching Leo out of  dark, hooded eyes. Okay, maybe he didn’t want to drag this out. He simply didn’t have the willpower. So he carefully climbed down to sit between Cristiano’s already parted thighs. He ran his hands over the muscular thighs before him - really, the Portuguese could probably throttle someone with them - and settled his fingers on the waistband of Cristiano’s briefs. 

“Can I get these ridiculous things of you?“, Leo asked. Always better to politely ask for permission.

“Oh, I’ll make you wear _these ridiculous things_ one day, you’ll see“, Cristiano said with utter conviction, a big smile on his face.

“Never“, Leo replied indignantly, unable not to grin at that. Before he knew it, they were kissing again, Cristiano’s greedy hands settling at his ass, which he had apparently developed a liking to since that first time in the storage room. The Portuguese made quick business of Leo’s underwear (comfortable, sensible boxershorts in his case, thank you very much) and he in turn pulled the CR7’s down, careful not to brush Cristiano’s knee in the process. They both stared at each other then for a few seconds, taking the glorious nudity of the other in. Cristiano’s chest was heaving a little, his flat stomach contracting and he was almost erect by now, his cock standing up proudly, already wet at the tip. As if Leo could resist that, he thought as he swallowed the other man down, fixing him on the bed with his hands. Cristiano cursed loudly in Portuguese - Leo had had more than enough Brazilian teammates to know that these weren’t curses of protest, and without further ado he hollowed his cheeks and started to suck. Cristiano’s hands scrambled in his hair, pulling a little, but just so that it was still enjoyable. Leo liked the musky, earthy taste of him on his tongue and as he looked up, he almost came on the spot at the hungry look on the Portuguese’ face. He had to look down again, as if the sight of Cristiano’s thick cock disappearing in his mouth was any less arousing.  

Leo flinched as something hit him on the head and fell down on Cristiano’s stomach. He pulled off with a last lick to the head and grinned at the sight of a small tube of lube in front of him.

“You better get on it, if you want me to last more than three minutes when you fuck me“, Cristiano demanded and wriggled up his ass invitingly. It was creepy just how much they were thinking alike.

He quickly kissed the flat stomach in front of him, before taking the tube and pushing one of the various pillow under Cristiano’s hips. Leo had a feeling that coddling the other man wouldn’t be appreciated, so he just slowly pushed a lubed up finger in, which Cristiano took easily. He shortly added another after that, scissoring them to stretch him as good as possible, and as he crooked them just so, he could hear a loud groan that made him grin. When he had three fingers in and Cristiano felt relaxed around him, the Portuguese unceremoniously grabbed his hand to pull them out. 

He gasped at the feeling of being empty, but still bit out: “Come on Leo, I’m more than ready“. Leo had been so distracted with watching his fingers disappear in that incredible body that he hadn’t noticed that Cristiano had snatched the lube away. He gave Leo a few strokes, coating him generously and pushed him downwards. 

“No condom?“, Leo asked breathlessly. They were professional athletes, so they were both clean with all the medical test the clubs had them do, but it still surprised him. Cristiano only looked at him like he was stupid and murmured something that sounded dangerously close like: “Wanna feel you, you idiot“, but Leo let it pass.

“You’ll tell me when anything hurts, all right? With your knee, too. I don’t want to make it worse“, he panted as he positioned himself at Cristiano’s entrance.

“Do you always talk this much during sex?“, was the breathless reply. “And I’m not made of sugar. Just fuck me“, Cristiano added, before impatiently thrusting up. They both groaned at the stretch as the head pushed in, but Cristiano’s eager hands on his waist urged him on and so he sank into the silky heat, bit by bit, until he was buried to the hilt. Judging by the Portuguese face, which was slightly scrunched up at the pain, he needed a few seconds to adjust, and Leo wasn’t exactly mad about it. The urge to thrust was immense, but he honestly feared he would come immediately if he did. So he opted on breathing deeply and running his hands down Cristiano’s sides in a calming fashion - who he tried to calm, himself or his lover, he wasn’t exactly sure.

When he couldn’t take it any more, and Cristiano’s body had relaxed around him a little, he couldn’t help but pull out and slowly thrust in again. “Fuck. You feel incredible, you know that? So fucking tight“, Leo groaned, and Cristiano’s eyes fluttered shut at the praise.

The Argentine began to build a steady rhythm, trying various angles as he found out what Cristiano liked, until he suddenly tightened around him, letting out a loud moan. Found it again. He grinned and leaned down to press a quick kiss to Cristiano’s slack lips, the other man’s facial expression showing pure bliss. Leo was sure he didn’t look that different, his body finally getting the pleasure it had craved for weeks. It was like all the pressure of the last weeks, all his grief about the loss fell off him as him and Cristiano practically became one. A first time with someone shouldn’t feel this good, like this was meant to be, and the next few minutes felt like a blur of sweat and moans and intense pleasure as Cristiano moved so perfectly in-synch with him that Leo shortly wondered if he was still in his hotel bathroom with his head making all of this up. But the body under his was unmistakably real, a fain sheen of sweat covering it. The tanned skin was such a contrast to his own almost translucent one, and what Leo would give to be able to see how they looked together. 

He groaned at the thought. By now he could feel that they both wouldn’t last much longer by how tight Cristiano was getting around him, and his own body screamed at him for release. Determined to make the other man come first, he picked up speed, threw Cristiano’s good leg over his shoulder and started to pound his prostate relentlessly until he was almost screaming, chanting Leo’s name. He wasn’t sure if the Portuguese could come untouched, but he sure as hell would try his best to find out. 

“Hey, cariño, look at me“. Cristiano’s eyes slowly opened, staring back at him unfocussedly. “You’re mine now, you know that right? We feel too perfect together for you not to be.“ With these words, one particular hard thrust and Leo’s fingers insistently pressing against the purple mark on Cristiano’s neck, the Portuguese spurted all over his stomach and chest, seemingly coming endlessly. Leo could finally let go at the sight, flooding this amazing body,  and with how Cristiano felt around him, squeezing every drop out of him, he wouldn’t have lasted one second longer. He pretty much collapsed on the other man, feeling Cristiano’s arms winding around him immediately. Cristiano’s come messily smeared between their bodies, but Leo couldn’t care less. He actually liked the thought of Cristiano leaving a trace on him. 

“Come on, give me a kiss“, Cristiano demanded a few minutes later when they got their breath back and smiled down at Leo, who gave in only too gladly. They kissed languidly, reluctant to part, but after some time Leo had to pull out to avoid a sticky situation. He rolled out of bed - under Cristiano’s loud protests - to find something to clean them up with. His choice fell on the shirt Cristiano had wanted to cover himself up with earlier. Fitting somehow, he thought, as he sat down at the edge of the bed and carefully cleaned Cristiano’s stomach and inner thighs before using it on himself and throwing the used cloth in the vague direction of the bin. Cristiano must have thousands of Nike shirts, he certainly wouldn’t miss that one. 

He looked down at the Portuguese, who seemed like he would fall asleep any minute, his eyes only half open but somehow still managing to glare sternly at Leo. “You’re staying, right?“, Cristiano more snuffled than murmured as he shifted closer to him to sling a possessive arm over Leo’s waist and practically throw him back down on the bed. 

He hesitated for a split second. He should really get back to the team, be there in the morning at breakfast to do some cheering up before everybody went their separate ways to go on vacation. But Cristiano’s body felt so perfect against his in a comfortable embrace, just as perfect as mere minutes ago when they had practically been one, and his heart ached at leaving him behind. And Kun was much better at that cheering up thing than he was anyway.

“Yes“, was his simple answer. “I’m staying“. Cristiano’s grip tightened at that and he pressed a quick kiss to his shoulder.  Little did Leo know that he would stay for good.

 

\- - -

 

When Leo woke up, there already was light peaking out from under the dark and heavy curtains. He felt very warm, especially at his back, but somehow didn’t want to move one centimeter. It was a good, radiant warmth that soothed his aching muscles. He hummed contently and as he slowly came to wakefulness, he felt that the heat source was a warm, naked body against his. His eyes instantly opened. Leo couldn’t see Cristiano’s face of course, but looking down he saw that Cristiano still held him in his arms and he could feel their intertwined legs under the blanket. Usually he hated being the little spoon, but this felt too good to fight against it, so he just relaxed and settled back into the embrace, listening to Cristiano’s slow breathing, which promptly lulled him back to sleep.

Leo woke again when he felt soft lips move against his neck. He smiled softly, and as he reached his hand back to rake his fingers through Cristiano’s curls, he heard Cristiano’s scratchy voice say: “My turn“, before the other man bit down sharply to give Leo a mark of his own. When all he did was laugh at it and relish in the slight pain-pleasure of the bite, the realization finally hit him: He was so fucked. Falling for Cristiano Ronaldo of all people would probably be the unwisest decision in the world. Of all the people he could choose to be his partner, Cristiano should by all rational means be the last name on the list. 

But thinking about it, who said that Leo had had a choice in the first place?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think good people! Any favorite moments or lines? If it's ok to say, I'm particularly fond of: “Had to work up the courage to actually knock, hm?“, he said affectionately. “Good. That shows me you’re not insane or dumb. Or both.“
> 
> P.S.: If you were surprised that usually vocal Cristiano was pretty quiet during sex.. What can I say, he was a bit overwhelmed with Leo's sexual prowess ;)
> 
> P.P.S.: I'm visiting friends for New Years so it might take me some time to update! So an early Happy New Year everybody xx


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Yeah, yeah, it was nothing“, was the distracted answer. The hand that was running through his hair and the fact that he looked down at his feet instead at Cristiano showed him that there wasn’t much truth in that statement.
> 
> There is something Leo just isn't sharing with Cristiano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short update. This continues the morning after the Atletico game, before the flashbacks :)

Cristiano snuffled and shifted on the bed, arms instinctively stretching to search for the warm body that was supposed to be next to his. He could never resist a good morning cuddle. Sleepy Leo was much more pliant and willing to let himself be caressed instead of wanting to give Cristiano all the attention like he usually did, so the Portuguese cherished the quiet morning hours when he had his boyfriend all to himself.

But Cristiano’s hands, expecting warm, smooth skin only hit cool sheets. He instantly opened his eyes to really find the space next to him empty. He frowned, going from half asleep to suddenly completely awake in mere seconds. Leo **never** gets up first. If there is one thing that Cristiano could count on in his life, it’s that if the Argentine has the opportunity to sleep in, he does it and nothing and nobody can stop him. He himself had to learn that the hard way. No getting up before ten and definitely no shared morning run. Cristiano had tried to convince him of his own morning fitness routine, but to no avail, which, if he was completely honest, hadn’t turned out to be a bad thing. With the few mornings during the season that they got to spend together, Cristiano also preferred sleeping in with Leo in his arms, a good cuddle, and then some glorious morning sex. After that loss yesterday, he especially needed that cuddle. But he pushed the thought aside when he heard Leo’s hushed voice coming in from the hallway, paired with the unmistakable sound of his bare feet smacking on the floor, everything being muted by the almost closed bedroom door. 

He could only hear bits and pieces with Leo’s muted talking, and on top of that, his even normally quiet voice obviously trying not to wake Cristiano up didn’t help. But the other man’s Argentinian drawl came out in full force so that at least gave him a clue to as who he was on the phone with. Usually he only spoke in that way when Cristiano heard him talking to Kun or his family on the phone, but he sounded tense and annoyed, so Cristiano was pretty sure he wasn’t talking to his fellow national teammate and friend. Family then. He tried his best to hear more of the conversation, but wasn’t successful. It was probably for the best. Leo would tell him about it if he wanted to, and he should accept that. Still, nobody could blame him for being curious.

Just as he came to that conclusion, he couldn’t help but overhear Leo’s next words, voice now raised and Cristiano didn’t need to see his boyfriends face to know that he was upset: “I’m not only a professional athlete, I’m also a person. And I do know what’s best for me, I’ve managed pretty well so far in my career. So thanks for your input! Yes, I'll see you!“ 

Cristiano was pretty sure that if there still was such a thing as real telephone like they had in Portugal when he was a child, Leo would have slammed the receiver down so hard the entire house would hear it. Pressing the disconnect button brought so much less satisfaction, he always thought. But who was he kidding, if there was someone with a sense of drama in this relationship, it was him. There were few times when Leo lost his calm composure, and that had been one of them, and now he wanted to know why.

It was silent for a few moments but then Cristiano could hear footsteps nearing the bedroom. Internally debating with himself, he decided not to play pretend to be asleep and propped himself up against the headboard, quickly grabbing his phone from the nightstand and looking down at it to not give the impression he had been eavesdropping. 

“Oh, you’re awake“, Leo mumbled as he entered the room, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t exactly seem happy to see Cristiano up. Despite being concerned, the Portuguese had to smile. Leo’s boxers hung loose on his hips, showing off his slim and toned body that he usually tried so hard to hide with his oversized kits, and his hair, despite his best attempts to keep it down, stood up in all directions. His tattoos immediately drew his focus, contrasting beautifully with his pale skin, almost glowing in the soft morning sun that filtered in from the huge window to Cristiano’s garden. How someone could look so sweet and so hot at the same time really was beyond Cristiano, and that he was the one who was so lucky to be with that man even more so. 

But he preferred Leo without that tense facial expression and tired eyes. It surprised him every time how fast the Argentine’s happiness had become so integral to his own - if Leo wasn’t happy, he didn’t feel comfortable in his bones either. Love was a funny thing.

“Everything alright querido?“, Cristiano asked carefully and nodded towards the phone in Leo’s hand. “Usually people know better than to call you this early“, he added, trying to take off some of the weight of his question. 

“Yeah, yeah, it was nothing“, was the distracted answer. The hand that was running through his hair and the fact that he looked down at his feet instead of at Cristiano showed him that there wasn’t much truth in that statement.

Suddenly Leo’s eyes bore through his. “Shouldn’t I ask you this?“, he deflected, his body language getting defensive. So Cristiano had been right when he instantly suspected that his stubborn better half wouldn’t want to talk about it. 

Leo maybe was much more talkative and engaging than many people believed - well at least when he knew someone well and trusted them - but that didn’t mean that actually talking about his feelings or what bothered him came easy to him. No wonder really, especially as he knew that in Leo’s childhood or teenage years pretty much nobody besides a few friends had cared how he actually was, as long as his performance on the pitch didn’t suffer. And even then: Which 17-year-old boys actually talk about their feelings with each other. 

Football was a hard business, and when you delivered nobody gave a fuck on how you were doing privately and Cristiano could live with that. But he knew first hand how hard it was to come to terms with your sexuality in such an environment - it didn’t encourage you to share anything or show any vulnerability, on the contrary. So knowing full well that probing wouldn’t get him anywhere and would only make Leo retreat into his shell, he decided to let the issue rest for now. It was only one call after all. 

He chose to just open his arms in an inviting gesture and replied: “I’m fine. Well maybe not fine, but better, thanks to you. Now come here - I want to enjoy my time with you when you’re here.“

Leo visibly relaxed at that, glad at getting away with his vague answer, but his steps towards the bed were still hesitant. He stopped before it, standing an arm’s length away from his boyfriend.

“I can’t stay, Cristiano. I need to leave before midday to get back to Barcelona.“

“What? Why?“ Cristiano could feel his lips turning into a pout. “I thought you only had one game in the next week? Can’t you at least stay for today?“ He sounded more pleading than he liked, but he simply hated it when they couldn’t spend the limited time off they had together. They didn’t see as much as he would like it as it was.

“I’m afraid not. The club wants me home to do some extra work due to the time I missed when we were away and I can’t miss that“, was the apologizing reply.

“You’re supposed to need extra work? What do they want from you, you even scored yesterday after that long break!“, he said indignantly. To Cristiano the thought of someone telling Lionel Messi that he needed extra work was laughable. That man had won enough Ballon d’Ors against him, if that didn’t show that there was nothing to improve he didn’t know what would. Especially if that meant that he didn’t get to spend the whole day in bed with him.

Leo just shrugged. “I know nobody who does more extra work off the pitch than you, so you should be the last one to complain. And I really need to get into my rhythm again, one game wasn’t enough for that, so I don’t mind.“

At that, Cristiano grabbed him by the arms, ignoring the indignant yelp at being manhandled, and pulled him off his feet so he lay on his broad chest and had to look him in the eyes. 

“You don’t mind?“ He flipped him over and settled down firmly on Leo’s thighs, effectively pinning him under his superior weight. As much he loved Leo taking charge most of the time, the feeling of his lover’s solid body under him made him feel warm all over. 

“Well I do mind when my boyfriend flies to Madrid to visit me and cheer me up and then barely stays for 12 hours“, he said, running his arms down Leo’s bare chest.

That got a reaction out of the Argentine. Cristiano could feel his muscles get tense under him, and Leo bit his lip and threw him a guilty look. Great. Instead of lightening the mood like he had planned to do, he of course had made him feel guilty. 

“I’m sorry, cariño. You know I would stay if I could“, he said softly and wrapped his arms around Cristiano, the grip surprisingly tight for someone who had avoided contact before. There definitely was something going on. He pressed a quick kiss to Leo’s lips and whispered against his mouth: “You can always talk to me when there’s something bothering you, you know that right? You can vent to me for hours if you like. We’re a team after all.“

Leo just stared up to him for a second, eyes unreadable, before pulling Cristiano’s head down roughly so their lips where clashing again. That might have not been the answer that he had expected, or even wanted, but at least some of Leo’s pent up emotions seemed to flood into the kiss with how aggressively he was forcing his lips open, almost biting them. Typical Leo. Even with Cristiano’s considerable 170 pounds on him he still managed to take the lead. 

But as quickly as the troubles burst out of him, they were gone again, his inner fight leaving his body as his tongue soothed the places he had roughened up before abruptly ending the kiss.

“I know. But I’m good“, he panted. He conveniently oversaw Cristiano’s doubtful facial expression and tried to gently shove him off. “Now let me go, you weigh a ton and I have a plane to catch and I definitely won’t leave without some breakfast and a shower.“

Cristiano reluctantly rolled off him, fully aware that he would get nothing out of the man right now. He stared at his boyfriend’s back as he got out of the bed and quickly disappeared into the en-suite bathroom. Leo just wanted to hide his face, he knew it. For now, he would just have to live with the fact that there was something that his boyfriend simply didn’t want to share.

\- - -

Leo stood under the shower, his hands against the wall, and let the hot water run over his body in an attempt to calm him. Truthfully, he didn’t need to take a shower, but he had needed some time for himself to calm down and regain some composure. After his father had called he had hoped that Cristiano would still be asleep, but the other man had clearly heard more of the conversation than he had let on. He was thankful that he hadn’t probed more. He didn’t want to lie to him, but he just couldn’t tell him the truth either: _My father hates you and our relationship and he thinks you want to sabotage me for your own gain. He also hates me in general for being in a relationship with a man, and he called because he wanted to vent to me how unprofessional I am for flying here to see you and that you are keeping me from Barcelona on purpose so I can't get into form. Now he's at my house, waiting for me to come home 'to talk some sense into me'. What can I say, he's a complete dick. Morning sex now?_  

He had known that he couldn't run from his father forever, and so it was probably for the best to face him now before he talked to the media or did something equally stupid and all of this ended in a total disaster. Besides, he really should be at training this afternoon to make up for lost time, and even if he could skip it, to be quite honest, he didn’t know if he could make it through the day with Cristiano not telling him what upset him so much. The Portuguese was one of the few people he always could be himself around, not hiding anything, and even if it might seem that he wasn’t the sharing type, he often did tell Cristiano if something was bothering him, more than he did any other person. But this was different - dealing with family was always different, especially when it also concerned Cristiano.  

“I bought you Dulce de Leche for breakfast querido. You want some?“, sounded his boyfriend’s muted voice through the door and interrupted his thoughts. He had to take a deep breath before he was able to answer, with the big lump suddenly in his throat trying to keep the words from leaving his mouth.

“Yes, thanks! I’ll be out in a minute“, he managed to get out.

“Take your time. The Dulche de Leche will wait for you, and some Mate if you want it“, was the short, teasing answer.

Why did he have the feeling that he hadn’t managed to fool Cristiano for a minute with his rushed exit to the bathroom? The other man probably had no real idea what was bothering him, but he knew exactly that something was off. He would have to tell him someday, but he just didn’t have the heart to do it now, when Cristiano had so much on his own plate with Perez and the media, not to mention last nights loss. No, it was for the best. They were a team, Cristiano had been right about that, but for the time being he would have to take one for their team and carry that burden himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leo is a stubborn bastard who sometimes is a little stupid, what can I say? We're all a little stupid when it comes to feelings sometimes after all ;)
> 
> P.S: Happy New Year everyone, I hope it's filled with happiness and loads of smutty fanfic ;)


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo gets a much needed lecture about the importance of communication in a relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is very dialogue-heavy, so consider yourself warned. If you're one of the commentators who said that more Kun would 'ruin the story', then better not read on. If you're not put off by both those things, enjoy :)

Leo walked on the parking lot at Barca’s training facility, and with each step that got him closer to his car and so his father, his heart got heavier. Training had distracted him pretty well (even though Neymar avoiding him throughout hadn’t felt great), and he had slept through the flight to Barcelona but now he couldn’t push the dread that he felt at the thought of another pointless fight with his father away. He might have kicked him out last time, but he knew that his father wouldn’t make it as easy this time. Jorge Messi was much too stubborn for that.

He threw his duffel on the backseat of his car and started the ignition. Best to get it over with, running away or biding his time would get him nowhere. Just as he hit the main road, his phone started to ring and connected with his hands-free device. It was Pepe, who he had complained to earlier about having to deal with his father later, and he hit accept. 

“Hey Pepe. What’s up?“

“I’m saving your day, that’s what’s up. You remember your endorsement for that Argentine insurance?“, he asked excitedly.

“Yes, why?“

“Well they’re not sure if the want to renew the contract because, well, you know, and so I’ve managed to convince your father to fly home and start negotiations with them. If they don’t renew anyway, it’s no loss for us, but at least he is busy for the next week or so and you get a break.“

Leo released a big breath he hadn’t realized he was holding.

“You have no idea how thankful I am right now! You’re the best!“

“Ah, it’s ok. You really need to focus on your football at this time. Can’t have you distracted“, he said, and Leo could swear he grinned on the other line. 

“Now get some rest. I understand that you couldn’t leave Cristiano alone last night, but you need to be fit for the coming weeks. Call me tomorrow, ok?“ And without waiting for answer, he hung up. Leo went from absolute dread at the thought of coming home to utter glee in mere seconds. All he wanted was his bed and some peace and quiet.

When he drove up to the house about twenty minuted later, it really lay in complete darkness. Leo instantly went relaxed at the sight. Not that he didn’t have faith in Pepe - but it was his father he didn’t trust. He should have known that if there was one thing that could keep his father from being able to lecture Leo on his many failures and mistakes then it would be the opportunity to make more money out of him. The knowledge that he at least got a week’s break until the next ugly fight relieved him to no end. This way he didn’t need to pretend in front of Cristiano - and he honestly didn’t know if he had it in him to play like everything was great again so soon. 

Leo threw the duffle bag with his dirty training gear in the corner as he entered his home, absent-mindedly checked his phone to see if Cristiano had messaged - he hadn’t, and quickly drained a glass of water in his kitchen before walking upstairs to his bedroom, his legs feeling heavier with each step he took. He flopped down on his bed, face first and made a sound of contentment, planning on not leaving until it was absolutely necessary - or ever, really. 

Just in that moment, he heard his phone’s muted ringtone from downstairs. Typical. He toyed with the thought of ignoring it, but what if it was Cristiano? Cursing, Leo ran down the stairs into the kitchen where he had left it before, completely forgetting it at the thought of finally being able to collapse in his bed. The display blinked with an unknown non-English number. Leo frowned - hopefully the media hadn’t somehow gotten his number. He had already decided to let it ring out, but then he recognized the dialing code and the beginning of the number and sighed in half resignation, half fondness. Leo should have known he would would call sooner or later and being fully aware that this wasn’t a person who would give up easily, he picked up just before the call could go to voicemail.

“Kun“, he simply said, his voice coming out a bit rough.

“Leo. It’s good to hear your voice - if the news weren’t so full of you I wouldn’t be sure if you were still alive after your radio silence.“ 

That stung despite Kun’s light tone, but he knew he deserved it. Kun had been his best friend - and sometimes more - since his teenage years, someone he trusted implicitly. But he was drained, emotionally and physically, and all he wanted was some rest. 

“I know that, and I’m sorry for it, but listen, I’ve had a long day and“ - Kun didn’t even let him finish.

“This is precisely why I’ve called you idiot!  That you had a rough few weeks is probably more accurate, so talk to me. I want to help. And of course I want to hear all the dirty details on how you two actually got together later!“

So Leo resigned himself to his fate with a little smile on his face - he had never been able to deny Kun anything anyway, and if he was being honest, he was happy that Kun had called. He had missed him and thought about phoning him, but had decided it would be better to give him some time. Learning about Leo’s new relationship through the media couldn’t have pleased him.

“How did you get my new number anyway? Pepe was pretty strict when he said it was only for him, Cris, Jorge Mended and my father“, he asked, having a pretty strong suspicion already on how that had come along.

“I annoyed him for so long until he gave it to me of course“, was the simple, cheerful answer. 

“Of course you did, why did I even ask“, Leo said gruffly, but still touched. Kun immediately decided to cut to the chase. 

“So.. How are you really? And don’t bullshit me, because if you say you’re fine, we both know you’re lying. Because you sound like shit.“

Leo ran a hand through his hair and sighed. There was no use talking around it with Kun, he would pick up on it immediately.

“It’s not great, I can’t lie. In short, the media have been vicious, to Cristiano even more than to me, many fans aren’t exactly happy and some of my sponsors would love to get rid of me. But at least the club’s reaction has been supportive, and the team is taking it well for the most part, but I’m dreading how it will be with Argentina.“

“Oh, I will kick anyone’s ass the national team if they don’t know how to behave - or in the whole country really. But who did you mean with ‘for the most part’? You’re not talking about Neymar by any chance?“

“How did you know it was him?“, Leo was baffled.

“The question is, who doesn’t know that that kid would kiss the floor under your feet and now has to nurse a broken heart? But he will get over it, trust me“, Kun said teasingly. 

“God, you sound exactly like Cristiano!“, Leo groaned. 

“Yes, how is Cristiano taking it by the way? Real isn’t Barca, and I can hardly imagine your father has been civil towards him also.“

“I don’t want to talk about it.“ 

That Leo preferred not to discuss his family really wasn’t news to Kun, but apparently his tone had given him away, because Kun was silent for a minute. Then it seemed to dawn on him. That bastard just knew him too well.

“Shit. You haven’t told him, have you? He thinks you have a happy, supportive family who proudly wave the rainbow flag, right?“

Leo’s lack of answer was enough of an confirmation for Kun.

“Leo, I love you, and you know I always will, but you’re a stupid motherfucker sometimes.“ 

Kun sounded more resigned than angry. Leo felt very tired all of a sudden, and he sank down against the kitchen cupboard, drawing his knees up to his chest.

“I can’t tell him, I just can’t. He has enough problems of his own, I don’t need to add my own fucked up family drama to it“, he tried to explain.

“Don’t you think he would want to know? “, Kun inquired, his voice soft.

“You don’t even know him!“, Leo protested weakly. 

“Well, I for my part would l want to know! And I’m sure you’d want to know too, especially if this is as hard on you as I expect it is!“

“That’s different! He shouldn’t have to deal with this mess!“

“No, it isn’t, and you know it! I know you think you have to handle everything yourself, but from all the people Cristiano Ronaldo could have as his partner, he chose you! I’m pretty sure he didn’t go into this relationship thinking this was going to be easy and uncomplicated, but he still did it!“ Kun said urgently.

“You have been outed in the worst way possible, the media is dragging him through the mire for whatever reason, and from what I’ve been hearing, Real wouldn’t be unhappy if he left, but he is still with you despite all that Leo!“, he added empathically.

“Exactly! And why? All of that already happened because I am with him! If I add my family drama to that, he’ll soon have enough! I’m the one who got lucky in this relationship as it is, I’m not going to drive him away just because my father happens to be a homophobic dick!“, it broke out of him. 

Leo didn’t even know where that had come from, and he felt even more miserable than before. He knew he shouldn’t doubt Cristiano, but one’s brain could be a bastard, and sometimes the ugly thoughts that he just wasn’t worth going through all of this mess for just sneaked to the surface. That he had actually voiced them made them even more real. His outburst had seemed to shut Kun up, but he could hear him take a deep breath over the line.

“Lionel, listen to me. Not being honest and not trusting him enough to talk about something so important to you will drive him away much more easily than anything your father could say to him. I don’t have to know him personally to see that he’s a strong character who can handle it. Besides, he will be hurt that you haven’t shared this with him, I’m sure he would have wanted to be there for you. This is what relationships are about after all! Being there for each other when everything gets too much. You would want to be there for him, right?“ 

Leo didn’t say anything, but he couldn’t deny the truth of Kun’s words. He would be hurt if Cristiano didn’t trust him enough to share his problems with him, if he didn’t give him the chance to console him like he had allowed him yesterday. How hypocritical could you get? Leo curled into himself even more.

„And I know I’m biased, but you are worth all of that, and he seems to agree! Have some faith in him - and especially yourself“, Kun added quietly after it was clear that Leo wasn’t going to answer.

“I.. you’re right. I shouldn’t doubt him. But you know how my father gets, and I guess part of me also wanted to protect him from that. His family can’t wait to meet me, you know, and telling him that he will never be welcome in mine..“

“I get it. And I’m not saying it will be easy, but it’s for the best.“

“Yes.“ 

 

They were both quiet for a while, but then Leo spoke up, trying to lighten the mood up a bit. 

“That was the best lecture I’ve ever gotten by the way. And I’ve been given pep talks by Pep Guardiola, pun intended.“

“Yeah? Thanks, I appreciate it. I hope you’ll take it to heart, or else I’ll come to Barcelona and kick your stupid ass!"

“You should go into couple’s counseling when you retire“, Leo said, completely ignoring the last statement.  

“I’m not kidding Leo! You know I will find out if you didn’t talk to him about it, and if you don’t I’ll call Cristiano up myself and tell him all about that time when I caught you watching YouTube tutorials about _HOW TO GET AN AMAZING RIGHT FOOT LIKE CRISTIANO RONALDO._ “

“You wouldn’t dare!“ Leo was horrified. If Kun told Cristiano that, he would never let him hear the end of it. Never. They would be old and grey and only barely able to kick a ball around for two minutes and Cristiano would still ask him if he should show him how to improve his right foot.

“I would. And you know why? Because I won’t let you throw away this relationship just because you’re irrationally afraid of rejection. The minute I saw that picture of you two lying in bed together and read the statement I knew you must have fallen bad for him. For one, because you didn’t talk to me about it which meant that you tried to give your relationship a serious go before telling anybody, and secondly, because you actually let him hold you instead of acting out your Napoleon complex and being the big spoon! You and I both know what that means, Leo!“

Only Kun could be so ridiculous to draw conclusions about people’s feelings with sleep positions. Which of course meant that he was completely right. Leo didn’t tell him that, naturally. And to be honest, he didn’t need to. Which kind of was their relationship in a nutshell. So lost for more meaningful words, he settled for a simple thank you. Kun knew what he tried to convey with that anyway. 

“Yeah yeah. I’m only doing this so you’ll let me be your best man at your wedding and I can tell everybody embarrassing stories about the true self of the word’s best footballer, like that one time you tried to do a fancy trick to impress me and knocked yourself out with the ball instead.“

“Naturally. But please don’t call me that in your speech, Cristiano would only get mad. We live in a relationship in which somehow both of us are the worlds’ best footballer, you know?“

They chatted amicably for some time, Leo asking about ManCity and how Benja was, glad to be able to draw the focus of the conversation away from him and get some distractions from his problems. With the promise “to not to be an asshole“ and call Kun soon, he hung up.

As he got bed ready, Leo thought about what Kun had told him and made his mind up. He would tell Cristiano about his family when he next saw him in person, there was no way around it. Now that the when was settled the question of the how arose. Leo would have to do a lot of explaining, and for the first time able to see his own actions clearly, rightfully so. He had allowed his own insecurities to cloud his judgement, but that was over now, and he would not give his father the power to drive a wedge between him and Cristiano.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a ton of fun writing this, even if it is a bit sad at times! I just love to write my two argentinian dwarfs together, what can I say. Tell me what you think lovelies, your comments make my day.
> 
> Also, I'm starting my new job on Monday and will be quite busy, so I might not update as often as I wish I could. The next few chapters are all planned out though, and in a gush of inspiration I also already wrote the final chapter (I know). So please bear with me xx


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cristiano and Leo's father finally meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back and naturally I'm back with some drama! I hope you enjoy! xx

Cristiano drove up to Leo’s house, his entire body thrumming with excitement. He hadn’t seen Leo since the night after the Atletico match three weeks ago, which was much too long for taste. And so he had simply decided to cancel some meetings and come to Barcelona a day earlier than planned to surprise his boyfriend and squeeze in some extra sex. He was only human after all. 

When he saw another car in the driveway he didn’t give it a second thought. It was probably Pepe’s and honestly, he just would have to leave, because Cristiano wanted to have his man to himself. Business would have to wait. He parked next to the black Range Rover and quickly checked his hair in the rearview mirror. A bit of nervousness joined in with his excitement. Leo would be happy to see him, right? 

Cristiano shook his head at his reflection: Why wouldn’t Leo be glad to see him? When he had told him that he would be able to join him this weekend, Cristiano had had the impression that Leo had been a bit tense, but he was pretty sure that had been the stress. No, it definitely had been stress. And he certainly looked forwards to help Leo with some stress-relief. He grinned, ran a hand over his still impeccable hair one last time and got out of the car, overnight bag in hand. 

The loud voices coming from the house should have been his next warning signal. It was rare for Leo to raise his voice in a normal conversation, and even in a fight he usually only got calmer and more quiet, withdrawing himself. But Cristiano chose to ignore it - probably him and Pepe were just having a heated FIFA match. Because if there was one thing that got Leo loud and complaining like a little child, it was losing. It didn’t matter if it was football, video games or a simple running race. He just hated it. Which probably was a very big one of the various reasons why they made such a good match, because Cristiano hated it just as much. 

Not bothering to ring the bell, Cristiano simply entered the door code, set his bag down next to the stairs and followed the voices to the kitchen. With every step he took towards the room, he felt lighter. He had missed Leo, but only now he realized just how much. Three weeks really were too long. But when he glanced into the kitchen, wanting to have a fitting entry and surprise his love, he stopped in his tracks. Because Leo wasn’t with Pepe, and they definitely weren’t playing FIFA. The man who was standing with his back towards Cristiano had greying hair and was gesturing wildly, his loud voice filling the entire room. Cristiano instantly recognized him now: It was Leo’s father Jorge. He knew Leo’s father handled most of his finances, but not much more - he had always gotten the impression that Leo didn’t like talking about his parents. 

And true enough, Leo was standing opposite his father, had his head in his hands, and was looking small and defeated and seemingly wasn't even listening to what Jorge Messi was saying. Which was all the more reason for Cristiano to push his excitement aside and finally listen in.

“Hiding you face won’t change that I’m telling the truth, Lionel! That Portuguese scum only wants to distract you from your game, just wait and see! You should be ashamed to fall for that, for being so weak - and being with a man is a sin you will never be able to wash away!“

Cristiano felt like someone punched him in the gut. After Leo had left so suddenly the day after the Atletico game, he had of course thought about that mysterious phone call that had left his boyfriend so withdrawn. He had considered the possibility of Leo’s family not liking him, not being overly supportive of their relationship, but he had never imagined this, the sheer amount of disgust lacing Leo’s fathers words. And Leo’s lack of reaction at this, his obvious tiredness and exhaustion, only confirmed his instant impression that they had had that exact conversation many times before. 

So he decided to step into the room - nobody could say Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t have balls - and said, simultaneously swallowing his anger and summoning his courage: “Señor Messi, it’s nice to finally meet you“. 

He extended his hand to Leo’s father looking him directly in the eyes. Just because someone had no class didn’t mean that he needed to lower himself to their level. No need to give that man any more ammunition. He could hear Leo gasp from a few meters away, him calling his name, but didn’t look at him. Cristiano simply couldn’t believe he had withheld this from him. 

“How do you dare?!“ Jorge Messi spat the words in his face after a moment of utter surprise, ignoring the offered hand completely. Cristiano involuntarily took a step back, his face turning impassive immediately, his automatic reaction to people insulting him. He suddenly felt cold, the warm excitement from earlier had completely vanished. Then Leo’s father turned towards his son. 

“Haven’t you told him that I don’t want him here? Tell that queer bastard to leave, or I will do it myself“, he commanded, talking about Cristiano like he wasn’t even there. 

Being insulted Cristiano could take, he was even used to it, but being talked about like that and still being treated like air he didn’t accept. Just as he was about to tell Messi Senior to politely fuck off - fuck being classy - Leo cut in, voice calm but tense as he walked to Cristiano and took his hand.

“If there is one person that will leave _my_ house, it’s you“, he said, his voice steely, his whole composure changing as he stood up straight and glared at him. 

“You’re my father, and some part of me will always love you, but I just can’t respect you anymore.“ He took a deep, audible breath, but continued just as forceful. “This is my partner you’re talking about, and if you can’t at least be civil to him, you won’t be welcome in this house anymore.“ 

Leo squeezed his hand, holding it so tight it almost hurt. If Cristiano weren’t angry and sad about being lied to like this, he would be proud: It obviously cost Leo a lot to stand up to his father like this. Which was the one reason why he didn’t let go of Leo’s hand - he owed him his support here, and so he squeezed back as hard as he could. 

“You’re always saying that, but I’m still here, am I not? I’m leaving because I don’t want to look at that scum anymore, but I will be back“, Jorge bit back viciously. Honestly, that man had some nerves - if he weren’t Leo’s father Cristiano would have sent him flying already. 

“You won’t, if you don’t change your attitude and show some respect. But I’m afraid that’s a lost case, so get out“, Leo answered, voice now shaking a bit, but his point to the door said it all. 

Jorge Messi stormed out in a huff, but Cristiano knew that he his words had been true - there was no way he wouldn't be back. 

As soon as he heard the door closing with a loud sound, he withdrew his hand from Leo’s, distancing himself with a few quick steps. He needed some space to breathe as all the disappointment and sadness over being treated like that - from both Messi men - hit him like a wave. Leo had defended him, yes, but what about all those times when he had told him everything was fine when it clearly hadn’t been? He hadn’t been truthful over and over again, and that lack of trust hurt more than any of Jorge Messi’s words ever could. 

“I’m so sorry you had to witness that“, Leo said after a few moments, looking truly miserable. He was even paler than usual and his shoulders were slumped again, making him appear half his size.

“Not as sorry as I am, believe me“, Cristiano answered bitterly. He really didn’t want to hit Leo when he was already down, but he just couldn’t not say anything. The unspoken words were burning on his tongue, leaving a terrible taste in his mouth, forcing their way out. 

“I can’t believe that you haven’t told me that your father apparently hates me! Didn’t you think that was something I should know? You’ve lied to me over and over again Leo!“

Leo at least had the decency to look ashamed. “I wanted to tell you tomorrow, I promise. I just.. I didn’t want to burden you with something that you’re unable to change. I thought you had enough problems to deal with as it is“, he said pleadingly, his eyes burning. 

Cristiano huffed, unimpressed. 

“I’m not some delicate little flower Leo! Who are you to decide what I can and cannot take? I’m Cristiano Ronaldo for Gods sake, I’m sleeping with Lionel Messi and the whole world knows it! How many fucks do you think I give? The answer is none!“, he pretty much yelled, before taking a deep breath, trying to calm down.

“Who are you to decide what I can and cannot take?“ He said again, more quietly, sadness lacing his voice.

“I know better now! Which is why I wanted to tell you when you were supposed to visit tomorrow. I never wanted you to have to find out like this! I’m so sorry Cristiano, I truly am!“, Leo answered urgently.

“What about the rest of your family then? What do they think about me?“, Cristiano inquired.

His boyfriends’ look at his feet told him everything he needed to know. 

Cristiano simply shook his head. “I can’t believe you!“

“I wanted to tell you, you have to believe me!“, Leo repeated, sounding genuinely panicked now and closing the distance between him to give his words some weight.

And the thing was, Cristiano did believe him, but that didn’t change the fact that Leo hadn’t told him earlier, or the feeling of betrayal, of not being trusted enough to share something so important, so central to Leo’s life with him. They were in a relationship, he had thought they loved each other (well Cristiano hoped they did, none of them had said the words) and yet, here they were. Bitter sadness and disappointment seeped through him, making him feel tired and weary.

And so he shook off Leo’s hand that had found its way to his arm and stepped away. 

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that that's not enough.“

He turned around and left Leo standing there, looking as lost as Cristiano himself felt.  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo, what did you think? I hope that it was fairly obvious that Leo's dishonesty would bite him in the ass (so to speak), as it so often happens in life. I'll do my best to post the next chapter soon - comments will only encourage me to be quicker ;)


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo has some explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tighten your seat-belts, we're in for a bumpy ride.

“It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just that’s that not enough.“ Cristiano sounded more sad than angry as he turned around and left Leo standing there, feeling completely lost.

He waited for the shutting sound of the door, for the engine starting in his driveway, but there was nothing, just silence. He took a breath of relief. So Cristiano at least hadn’t stormed out and headed straight to the airport - which if he was being honest, would be a very Cristiano thing to do. His boyfriend did love to be dramatic. Not that he could blame him in this case: Cristiano’s anger and disappointment were well deserved, and Leo truly felt miserable. But this was something he had brought on himself, and he should have seen it coming so he had to live with the feeling. Not being truthful, lying, was something that would always come back to hurt you. Not that he didn’t deserve it - he did - but if he had just been brave enough earlier he at least wouldn’t have hurt Cristiano so much. Kun really did need to come over to Barcelona and yell at him for being a stupid asshole. But he probably wouldn’t even just yell at him. He’d kick his ass. Literally. 

But Kun couldn’t fix this mess for him - this time he had to do it himself. Debating if it was better to give his boyfriend some space and talk to him later or try to explain himself he chose to look for Cristiano immediately. Leo himself would have wanted to be left alone for a bit, but Cristiano was different. He might run hot instantly and demand distance, but he cooled off just as fast, and then the anger was replaced with utter sadness - which was almost always the case when he lost games or didn’t perform as well as he felt he should have. Better to risk the fury now than letting him suffer for longer, thinking that it was a lack of trust in him instead of Leo’s own insecurities that had lead to this mess. All he could do was to finally be honest and hope that he would be forgiven.

Time to own up to his mistakes. So he shook off his own self-loathing and pity for bringing himself in this situation and headed up the stairs, because he had a pretty good suspicion about where Cristiano had stormed off too  - and his now closed bedroom door confirmed it. Typical. Only Cris would flee from a fight with his boyfriend into said boyfriend’s bedroom instead into one of the ten guest rooms in Leo’s house, in all of which he could have actually locked the door. But he had decided not to, and that gave him some hope.

Him standing in front of a door that separated him from Cristiano very much reminded him of the night of the World Cup final. Even at that time, it had felt like a huge decision to summon up his courage and actually knock, but he had had no idea just how life-changing it would be.

The decision to open the door now was a much easier one: He didn’t want to lose Cristiano for anything and he would do everything in his power to prevent it. Even if that meant that he had actually talk about his feelings for once. Especially if that meant that, come to think of it. So he took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle and stepped into the room. 

Cristiano didn’t even look up as he entered, sitting on the floor leaning against the huge bed, long legs drawn up to his chest. Once again Leo had to think of that night in Rio - he must have been an equally miserable sight when Cristiano had stepped into that storage room.

“Can’t you leave me alone for 10 minutes? Don’t you think you have done enough for one day?“, the Portuguese muttered under his breath.

Leo shifted nervously on his feet. His voice came out a bit shaky when he said: “I just want to explain it to you Cristiano. I don’t know if it’ll be enough, but at least I want you to understand why I did it- even if I was completely wrong in not telling you about my father. Especially because of that! Just… Please just listen. If you want me to go afterwards I will. I promise.“ 

There were days on which really wished he were more of an eloquent talker, and this was one of them. His lack of convincing words frustrated him, and he was sure that Cristiano would tell him to get the fuck out, but after some silence he finally lifted his head and looked up to him, face pale. 

“I’m not sure if I wan’t to hear your excuses for lying to me for MONTHS - but since I am a grown-up who actually talks and listens to their partner go on if you truly want to. I’ll listen to what you have to say.“

A wave of relief flooded Leo. All he wanted was a chance to explain - to show Cristiano that his misjudgment had had nothing to do with the other man, just with his own issues. So he cautiously walked towards Cristiano, making a move to sit next to him, but to no avail.

“Oh no, you sit over there“, Cristiano said with a pout and pointed on the wall behind Leo, who bit back a small smile. As serious as the situation was, his boyfriend really did behave like a petulant child sometimes. But he just put both hands up in a sign of peace and sat down against the closed door.

Now that the moment to finally say what he wanted and needed to say had arrived, he somehow didn’t know how or where to start. His relationship with his father had always been complicated. So he simply started at the beginning. How he had been raised strictly catholic, no mention of such a thing as homosexuality in his home, except the occasional rant or lecture about people who were such sinners. How he was a disappointment at first, when it was thought he would never be tall or strong enough to become a professional player. And how as he had made it, despite all the obstacles, but how he somehow still was never good enough even though he solely supported the whole family now, his father even making money out of him as his financial adviser, more or less controlling all his assets.

How he had never told him about Kun, even though he must have suspected something, with as bad as he treated Kun every time he saw him. How he had never dared to voice that he had relationships with both genders, only bringing home the girls because he knew that it wouldn’t be accepted. How his father only thought the absolute worst about Cristiano, and that as seen earlier, he wasn’t afraid to voice it no matter who heard it. Then his voice left him, trying to muster up the courage to go on, but Cristiano didn’t let him continue anyway.

“I understand all of that - how hard it must have been to grow up like this, why your relationship with him is so complicated. I really do. My relationship with my father wasn’t easy either for various reasons. But I still don’t understand why you didn’t tell me about it. I know it isn’t your fault that your father doesn’t like me, I would have never blamed you for it! You must know that!“, Cristiano insisted, now sitting up fully straight and looking Leo in the eyes. Leo didn’t know what to say to this. Because yes, he had known that. But he still hadn’t found the courage to be honest with himself and admit it. 

The other man pulled him out of his head again  as he added empathically: “And I would have felt sad, of course I would have, but for _you_ and what _you_ have to go through and not for me. I get people not liking, hating me every day. I would like to have a good relationship with your parents, but not for my sake, for yours! You didn’t even give me the chance to be there for you, because apparently you didn’t think I could handle it!“ 

Leo’s eyes started to water. How could he have been so blind and let it come to this? He took a deep breath to calm himself and finally said what he should have said right at the start.

“I know, and I’m so sorry for that! I’ve.. I’ve lied to myself all this time in thinking that not telling you would protect you, but in truth I wanted to protect myself. I’m not a good deal for you as it is, the whole media scrutiny, the pressure from your club, and then look at us!“

He lifted his hands that he had clasped tightly in his lap and drew Cristiano’s outline in the air as the other man was vigorously shaking his head. He wanted to speak, but Leo didn’t let him, the words now tumbling out of his mouth.

“But it’s true!! You could have anyone, and still you chose me! This has nothing to do with you, or that I don’t feel loved by you, it’s just my own fucking head which can’t accept that you weren’t forced into this! It always makes me feel like I’m not good enough for you as it is, and then my father comes along, and I was scared that this would be the final straw! How could you possibly still want me after that? So I lied to you, again and again, and each time I felt worse for it, but the fear kept my from saying it before Kun knocked some sense into me, and by then it was too late, and I’m so sorry!“

The tears were running freely down his face now, and he angrily wiped them away.

“I’m so sorry Cristiano. I shouldn’t have let my own insecurities doubt you“, he repeated more calmly, relieved that he finally voiced what he should have said months ago.

Cristiano was by him in a heartbeat, slinging his arms around him, embracing him so tightly that Leo gasped for air.

“You silly, silly man. You have no reason to be afraid!“, he whispered in his ear, as Leo buried his head on his chest.

“Look at me, Leo. Come on“, he commanded softly as he cradled Leo’s head in his hands and his eyes burned into Leo’s as he reluctantly looked up. 

“I love you! All of you - your insecurities and little faults, your stubbornness, your ambition, your kindness, your humor, your little idiosyncrasies, your body, your smile, simply _everything_ that makes you _you_. Nothing could ever change that, and certainly not your father!“

Leo closed his eyes, completely overwhelmed. He heard a soft chuckle, then felt small kisses on his eyelids. What Cristiano had just said started to slowly prickle in, and when he had processed it he suddenly opened his eyes and pushed Cristiano away.

“But I was supposed to say it first!! I was supposed to be the first one to say it! Take it back!!“, he demanded, not really believing what he way saying right now, but all of his senses had apparently left him.

Cristiano simply laughed at him, eyes bright and shining. “Never querido. I’d never take that back“, he said and kissed him forcefully, so much feeling pouring into the kiss, and when they finally parted they were both breathless.

“I love you too“, Leo whispered against Cristiano’s lips, hoping the words would print himself into his skin forever, so that they both could feel them every time they kissed. 

“I never doubted that, meu amor“, Cristiano answered and pulled him back into a embrace Leo only too gladly accepted. He couldn’t say how long they sat there, simply holding each other, but as the sun had begun to set they moved to the bed -  the floor hadn’t exactly proven comfortable. They snuggled up to each other under the thick blanket, stripped down to their underwear with Leo pretty much lying on Cristiano, face buried in the other man’s neck, the other man’s arms wrapped tightly around his back. 

It had been much too long since they had seen each other, and with the recent events and the things that had finally been said, so they didn’t talk, simply clinging to each other, not willing to let go for one minute. As Leo took in Cristiano’s so familiar, comforting smell, his hard body somehow still a comfortable cushion, all the tension of the past months slowly bled out of his body, as if it ridded himself from toxins that had slowed him down and hadn’t allowed him to see things clearly.

He moved up to lazily kiss Cristiano, unhurried and sweet. But soon enough Cristiano’s tongue nudged against his lips and he only too willingly granted it access. Their kiss grew more and more heated, and when Cristiano bit his lip teasingly and pulled off his underwear, he let out a quiet moan. He hadn’t been able to be this relaxed with Cristiano in weeks, the lies always hanging over his head like a dark cloud. Now he felt so close to him as he never had before, and he quickly rid his lover of his CR7s (of course), grinding their bodies together shamelessly, just enjoying the incredible feeling of Cristiano’s warm skin against his. Both of them were getting worked up quickly, groaning each time their erections slid against each other, precome easing their way. When Cristiano flipped them over suddenly, he dived in to kiss the grin off Leo’s lips and grabbed his thighs tightly as he thrusted against him. He looked so beautiful when he threw his head back in pleasure, long neck and gorgeous lips on full display, that Leo had to swallow, his throat suddenly tight with feeling. 

“Fuck me. Please“, Leo heard himself say, almost as surprised by his words as Cristiano, who gasped and held both his thighs together tightly just as Leo wanted to part them in invitation. 

“Leo, you don’t have to do this just because you want to prove something to me. I believe you, and I forgive you, okay?“, Cristiano said with a straining voice, but the desire was written all over his face and in his wide-blown pupils. 

“I don’t want to prove anything to you, cariño. I want to show you how much I trust you“, he answered earnestly and pushed against Cristiano’s grip to spread his thighs wider. 

“Are you sure?“, Cristiano asked again, and Leo could see the effort it took for him to not just give in to the pleasure that lay ahead. It made Leo feel warm all over: This incredible man loved him - and he would never do something that could change that ever again. And he desperately needed to give something back for that - not as proof, but as a sign of trust, as the ultimate gesture he could make. Besides, he would be lying to himself if he said that he hadn’t thought about it before, if it the picture, the feeling of Cristiano all over him, in him, hadn’t tempted him.

He lay a hand on his boyfriends cheek and looked him directly in the eyes. 

“I am", was his simple answer. Somehow that finally seemed to convince Cristiano, who instantly leaned down to press a soft kiss to his lips. It started out warm and gentle, the lightest contact as their mouths met, but quickly got deeper and heated as their hands started to roam all over each other.

“Mhh, as much as I love kissing you, please please touch me!“, Leo demanded after some time, and pushed him down teasingly.

“Querido, I don’t know what you’re talking about“, Cristiano answered innocently as he ran his hands down Leo’s naked torso, scratching him slightly with his nails. 

“I am touching you. Don’t you like it?“ He pinched a nipple, and Leo let out a soft moan.

“You know I am! It’s just not where I want it!“, he complained. God, he sounded like a petulant child. His own eagerness came a bit unexpected even to him, but feeling Cristiano’s talented fingers caressing him everywhere made him desperate to feel them inside him. 

“Ah, and where exactly is that?“, his boyfriend asked with an devilish smile before teasingly sucking the tip of Leo’s cock which lay hard and leaking up his belly. The Argentine only moaned louder.

“Fucking get your fingers inside me or I will do it myself“. 

Huh. Leo had no idea where that had come from. Maybe opening up and actually talking about your true feelings did that to you. He could feel himself blush and judging by Cristiano’s surprised but appraising look it actually spread down his chest.

“My fingers you say? I actually had other plans“, Cristiano murmured before throwing the legs that he had knelt in between of unceremoniously over his shoulders and tenderly kissed the creamy inside of his thighs. Leo’s mouth fell open in surprise. With every kiss he got closer to the place Leo desperately wanted him to be breathing got so much more difficult. 

When Cristiano grabbed his cheeks and spread him apart, Leo had to close his eyes and bit his lip. Hard. 

“I always imagined doing that to you, you know? Even when we didn’t really know each other, I saw your perfect little butt and wanted to eat you out so badly“, Cristiano said musingly. Leo let out an indignant yelp that turned into an embarrassingly loud moan as he felt a talented tongue lick a broad stripe on his hole. Cristiano licked teasingly around his hole, always on the verge of pushing in, but always stopping at the last moment, only pressing small kisses to his entrance. When Leo couldn’t take the teasing anymore, he unceremoniously grabbed Cristiano by the hair and pushed him down.

“Eager, are we?“, Cristiano asked arrogantly. 

“Well, I thought you wanted to eat me out, and I’m not exactly noticing that“, Leo replied cooly.

That statement finally got Leo what he had wanted all along: Cristiano’s mouth descending on him, his tongue pushing in, finesse thrown completely over board. Leo fell back on the bad, hands grappling for support and grabbed onto Cris’ strands again, which got him a moan. The feeling of that wet tongue inside of him, filling him up and and the slurping sounds that sounded through the room were down right filthy. Soon enough he was writhing shamelessly on the bed, not caring one bit about Cris’ self-satisfied grin. He just wanted him to go on - and his wish was fulfilled. When a lubed up finger pushed in next to Cristiano’s tongue, Leo’s body accepted it easily. When a second finger joined in not too much later, it was a bit uncomfortable but then the digits crooked just so, and Leo’s whole body tensed, air leaving him. That only seemed to spur Cristiano on, and a few minutes and one more finger later, Leo had to push him off to not finish this before it had even properly started, desperate to feel Cristiano in him properly. 

“Come on! I want you inside me“, Leo demanded, not caring one bit how needy he sounded. Cristiano stared at him for a second, clearly needing a moment to process all of that, before he hastily answered: “Yes. Yes. Of course!“

Leo had to bite back a smile. Had he known just how badly Cristiano had wanted this, he would have never been able to deny him it. He took Cristiano’s hand and kissed it tenderly, the gesture seemingly calming the other man as he pulled Leo’s legs over his shoulders, coated his cock generously with his free hand and lined up at Leo’s entrance. 

Leo took a deep breath, willing his nervous body to relax, and his nerves apparently showed.

“Hey querido. Ok?“, Cris asked him and kissed the tender spot on his inner thigh over and over again.

Leo nodded emphatically, too wound up and excited to get any words out. Not that he was a big talker in any other situation, but well, this really was something else. Cristiano threw him one last searching look, seemed to find what he was looking for, mirroring Leo’s earlier gesture as kissed his hand that was still intertwined with his and oh so slowly and carefully started to push in. Almost too careful - Leo wasn’t made of glass, and so his hands wandered down to Cristiano’s ass and urged him on. Mhh, he still loved the feeling of that ass underneath his fingers. It almost distracted him from the pain, because as good as Cristiano had prepared him, nothing could really compare to the feeling of a thick cock pressing into you. And as Cristiano slid in inch by inch Leo wasn’t going to lie, it hurt, and it burned, the stretch almost too much. But it by bit, his body started to accept the intrusion, and when Cristiano was finally buried to hilt, they both took a deep breath - Leo to push away the remaining pain, and Cristiano to avoid coming on the spot judging by the tortured moans he was making. 

When the burn had almost subsided, it felt like the fire had fused their bodies together, as if suddenly they were one. Cristiano in him, around him - like there was nothing else in the world than them. It made Leo feel a sense of completeness he had never felt quite that much before, and his mouth blindly searched Cristiano’s for a kiss, their lips meeting frantically. 

“You feel so good around querido. So perfect. As if we were made for each other“, Cristiano interrupted the kiss tenderly and kissed him again, slow and deep, his tongue tracing Leo’s bottom lip. A cheesy smile blossomed on Leo’s face as they parted, but disappeared as quickly as it had appeared as Cristiano pulled out, only to push back in languidly but immediately hit his target. Leo tried to bite back a loud groan, his mouth falling open with pleasure. How the fuck did Cristiano already know just how to move, how to thrust to make him see stars? Judging by Cristiano’s knowing smirk, maybe his moan hadn’t been as silent as he thought, but fuck it, he had forgotten how amazing bottoming could feel.

When Cristiano finally started thrusting properly, everything started to blur together and Leo lost sense of time and space. There just was them moving as one, the slick sounds of their joined bodies, the bursts of pleasure as Cristiano continued to hit that spot inside him, kissing him messily. His hands grappled  for purchase, then settling on Cristiano’s broad back and surely leaving marks of his fingernails all over it. Cristiano’s grip on his hip was just as tight, and there would be bruises all over him tomorrow, but the pleasure was so intense that all that Leo felt was a perfect pressure, keeping their bodies as close as they were supposed to be, his erection rubbing against their stomachs with every thrust, the pleasure almost overwhelming him.

With how wound up both of them were, it didn’t take long for Cris' movements to get more and more erratic, his hands aimlessly stroking every bit of skin he could reach, and Leo’s entire body screamed at him for release too. No way he would last much longer - but he would take Cristiano down with him. 

“Together?“, Leo panted and gripped Cristiano’s neck to pull him down for a messy kiss.

“Always“, Cristiano smiled against his lips and sneaked down a hand between their bodies to pump Leo’s angrily leaking cock. It only took a few well aimed thrusts and a particularly genius stroke of Cris’ hand and Leo was silently coming all over his flat stomach, no more words left in him. He only half-heard a loud groan as he clenched and tightened around Cristiano who emptied spurt after spurt into him, filling him up, warming his insides with his release. That did get a last tortured sound out of him and his grip got so strong that he left bloody imprints of his fingernails on Cris’ shoulders. The feeling was just incomparable to anything else - he had forgotten how powerful it was, how much it bonded two people together. 

Cristiano collapsed on top of him, body weakened by the powerful orgasm, his muscles so relaxed that for once he was all soft to Leo’s roaming hands, not just soft skin on bulging muscles and hard bones. A feeling of inner peace came to Leo as he lay there, Cristiano and him still joined and the man’s superior body weight comfortably pressing him into the mattress, somehow grounding him in this moment he was sure he would never forget. A moment that alone was worth all the trouble they had had to go through these past few months. Fuck his father. Fuck their clubs. He would never let go of Cristiano for anything, he thought as he pressed a kiss to his lover’s ear and closed his eyes in pleasure.

“Cariño. This can’t be comfortable“, Leo whispered after a few minutes and ran a hand through Cristiano’s dark strands, trying to gently rouse him. He surely wasn’t going to tell him that he had gotten a bit heavy, he’d never hear the end of it. 

As expected, he felt more than heard a vague noise of protest vibrating against his neck. Leo had to smile. He should have known that if he let Cristiano in once, he would never want to leave again. But honestly, there were worse things in life than Cristiano’s weight on top of you. Somehow it made breathing more difficult, but also so much easier. He reached for the duvet and pulled it over them - Cristiano was hot like a furnace, but soon enough even he would get cold. The feeling of his boyfriends’ chest contracting rhythmically against his made him sleepy again and he closed his eyes, continued to enjoy the feeling of Cris' hair in his hands and basked in the sense of belonging and security that had settled in the room. 

“I love you“, he breathed into Cristiano’s ear as the other man’s breathing had evened out, almost fully asleep now. The strong arms around him only tightened in response. A few hours ago, Leo would have worried about the lack of vocal answer. Now he fell asleep with a content smile on his face, finally accepting deep in his bones that Cristiano’s love was something he could count on forever - something that sometimes didn’t need words to be shown, just a simple embrace was enough. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I poured my heart into this one, so if you have any thoughts on it at all, please please share them with me! Every single comment would truly make my day.
> 
> P.S.: Now for more happy times ahead!! xx


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The morning after isn't what Cristiano expects it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought about writing a completely fluffy morning after, but what can I say, these two never do what I expect them to.. Enjoy!

When Cristiano blinked awake, he was alone. Which wasn’t unusual in itself (long-distance relationships suck), but after the night Leo and him had shared he’d expected to wake up with Leo burrowed close to him, sticky skin clinging to his. As it was supposed to be. But the place next to him on the mattress was empty. He skimmed over the sheets, still radiating some of Leo’s left over body heat. At least he couldn’t have gone for long and would hopefully be back soon for some morning cuddles. Judging by the grey light filtering in from the windows it wasn’t that late - normally Leo would sleep deeply next to him right now. His man valued his sleep. 

Just as he had decided to take Leo as an example and snooze for a bit longer, relaxing back into the pillows, he heard the muted ringing of his phone from somewhere in the room. He was very tempted to put the pillow over his head and ignore it, but it was Sergio’s familiar flamenco ringtone, and if he called that early something had to be up. So he grudgingly threw the blankets off his naked body, shivering a bit as the cold air of the bedroom hit him, and searched for the origin of the sound. After some rummaging around he spotted his jeans which lay under Leo’s ugly as shit t-shirt, pulled his phone out of the back pocket and hit accept.

“Hey Sese! What’s up?“, he greeted his friend absent-mindedly, debating if he should put on his briefs again. He looked down at his sticky stomach and decided against it, instead settling down on the bed again, leaning up against the headboard with the covers drawn up to his nose.

“Bro! I tried calling your house, but nobody answered! I have important news about Perez, and I can’t reach you“, he instantly complained. Always got straight to the point that one.

“That’s because I’m not at home, Sese. I’m at Leo’s place in Barcelona“, he explained patiently, scratching the itchy skin on his stomach. They really should have showered earlier, this was gross.  

“It’s not like I didn’t tell you so ten times, nene“, Iker’s voice suddenly muttered from the background. Cristiano grinned. Of course Iker was with Sergio - it was a free weekend after all and Sergio those two were inseparable. Besides, Sese would never be up at 9 AM if Iker weren’t with him.

“He could have stayed over at Marcelo’s for all we know, you grumpy old man!“ 

Cristiano blended out their bickering automatically, closing his eyes because this could take a while and enjoyed his cozy nest under the thick blanket and the nice burn of well-used muscles. He wondered when Leo would finally show up, because the Argentine secretly was a big sap and would never leave Cristiano alone in bed for long after the night they had had. He better hurry up whatever he was doing, because a) Cristiano was stil cold and b) he wanted to have a good cuddle - it had been much too long. 

Perez had apparently been forgotten for the time being, but Cristiano knew better than to press the issue. They would tell him later. After some other chit-chat and more play-fighting of course. 

Just as he was drowsing off a bit, the background chatter almost calming he was pulled back into the conversation.

“So how is Leo, anyway?“ Iker asked suddenly, always remembering after some time that he was the polite and attentive friend of the two of them. Sergio was more the type of buddy who would chatter on about his own personal life for two hours, before taking a short break and then asking: _“So, how are you again?“_

“Hm? Oh, he’s good. Great even“, Cristiano answered distractedly, entire body heating up again when he thought about last night. He didn’t think he would ever forget how Leo had felt around him when he first joined his body. Never in his wildest imaginations he had dared to think that they would fit together that well in that regard too, but he had been proven wrong. He had never been so glad to be wrong before. Ever. 

“Oh, somebody got laid real good last night, hm?“

Cristiano could practically see the big grin on Sergio’s face. He really was such a child sometimes. Well practically always - the only exception was when he was standing on the pitch. And even then his temper came out pretty often.

“OUCH, what the fuck Iker! You know I’m right!“

“That doesn’t mean you have to say it to him! You’re not ten anymore! It’s not like you tell him about our sex life every day!“

At first there was silence. 

Then: “You’re fucking with me, right?“ 

“Iker.. Mi amor..“

Just as Cristiano held the phone away from his ear and resigned himself for a longer waiting period, he heard muffled steps from outside the door. Then Leo entered, apparently having kicked the door open with his foot, because he was balancing a huge breakfast tray in both hands which pretty much bended under its heavy load. 

His hair was standing up in all directions, there way a smudge of red jam on his cheek, and his boxers hung low on his hips, showing off the muscled V of his lower belly. He looked even more delicious than the food smelled. Leo blushed under Cristiano’s appreciative gaze, and opened his mouth to say something, but then the sounds coming out of Cristiano’s phone stopped him. He walked towards the bed with a barely visible limp, which made the Portuguese smile even brighter. He wasn’t glad that Leo was in pain of course, but he himself enjoyed the light burn the day after. It awakened amazing memories with every movement.

“Who is it?“, Leo inquired quietly as he set down the tray on the nightstand and snuggled up to Cristiano in bed, quickly kissing him on the mouth. Too quick for Cristiano’s taste. 

He didn’t think the two lovebirds on the other end of the line were listening, still too busy with debating God knew what, but he put his hand on the phone anyway. 

“It’s Sergio and Iker. Apparently their crazy master plan to get rid of Perez has finally leapt into action, but they’re a bit distracted now. We may have to entertain ourselves for a bit“, he said with a grin and grabbed Leo’s hand, running it teasingly up his own very naked thigh.

Leo’s eyes widened comically and he got red in the face so quickly that Cristiano had to suppress his laughter. His boyfriend had many kinks, but being potentially listened to apparently wasn’t one of them. 

Of course in that exact moment Sergio’s excited voice leapt through the phone, Cristiano’s hand apparently having been unsuccessful in stopping him (that man truly only listened when he wanted to).

“Is that Leo?! OMG put him on right now!!“ 

Cristiano looked at Leo and rolled his eyes.

“Well, you heard him, put them on speaker“, Leo said and nudged Cristiano’s arm with his nose. Cristiano’ eyes shot up in surprise.

“But you’ve never voluntarily spoken one word to him!“, he hissed.  

“Well, let’s say that I’m in a very generous mood“, he grinned and stretched deliciously, face scrunching up a bit at the motion - he was obviously sore but didn’t really seem to mind. Cristiano mouth got very dry. Part of him wanted to throw his phone in the corner and jump Leo for a repeat session, but this was the future of his career they were talking about, so the sex would have to wait. A bit. For now. 

“It also helps when Sergio isn’t there to try to kung-fu kick me every ten seconds and I’ve always respected Iker. And besides, they’re trying to help you even though it could cost them their own asses, and I can’t help but admire them for it“, Leo shrugged.

“Whatever you want, baby. But give me a proper kiss first“, he winked.  

Leo rolled his eyes at him, but complied without further protest, resolutely ignoring Sergio’s enthusiastic woohooing and Iker’s embarrassed groan that sounded through the speaker. His lover tasted like toothpaste and a hint of jam, and Cristiano really didn’t want to end the kiss, but he accepted it grudgingly when Leo broke it off after a few seconds. They had to save face in front of Sergio, or he’d never hear the end of it.

Leo was apparently thinking the exact same thing, grabbed the cell and pushed a few buttons before laying it down on the blanket between them.

“Sergio, Iker, it’s Leo. Sorry for that, my better half can be a bit embarrassing sometimes.“

It was Cristiano’s turn to roll his eyes. Leo just winked at him, the bastard.

“Oh, don’t we know it! Nobody ever believes me outside the squad when I say that he’s the biggest dork ever!“, the Andalusian complained. 

He really needed to avoid Sergio and Leo being in the same room with each other. Both of them had so much teasing material on him that it would last for years. Before this would end in a lively discussion about his many eccentricities, Cristiano decided to quickly change the topic to the one which conveniently Sergio and Iker had actually called to talk about.

“So, what about Perez?“, he cut off Leo, who had probably been about to go off on a loving rant about how Cristiano was actually a 10-year-old girl in an adonis body (Leo’s words, not his).

“What about him?“, Sergio asked distractedly, clearly still on board with dragging Cristiano to hell and back with Leo’s help. They heard the sound of a slap, a loud _Iker you son of a bitch_ and some wrangling and complaining from Sergio from the other end of the line and then Iker had apparently won the fight for the phone.

“Sorry. You know how he gets“, Iker said, sounding more adoringly business-like than apologetic. Typical. He could shout the most obscene insults about Sergio’s mother on the pitch, but always took care to add a _nene_ to the end of his sentence, and in the end they left like nothing had happened. Talking about accepting and loving each other’s craziness. If Leo and him could be like that after they had played their first Clasico, Cristiano wouldn’t be only relieved but ecstatic.

“Where were we? ARGH SERGIO STOP TICKLING ME THIS IS UNFAIR!“

“REVENGE!“

The two Real captains apparently were still in bed just like them, because they could hear the distinct squeaking of the mattress through the speaker as Sergio clearly was successful in his quest for revenge - at least if Iker’s undignified mix of laughter and squeaking was anything to go by. Leo next to him was heaving with suppressed laughter - now that Cristiano thought about it he had probably never experienced those two in full couple mode. Lucky boy. Maybe they really should do a double-date sometime in the off-season. It would probably give him laughing material for months. 

“Told you that you don’t properly know them“, Cristiano shrugged at Leo when he had calmed down a bit and was busy looking alternately at his boyfriend and the phone, eyes wide. 

“I’ve never been so glad in my life that Xavi and Andres aren’t a couple! Are they always like this? Iker always seemed like the serious type to me!“

The Portuguese just nodded solemnly. 

“You’ll get used to it, trust me. I just blend them out on autopilot by now.“

“Hey! I am serious ok! I am the voice of reason in this squad! And in this relationship!“ Iker suddenly said, clearly trying for business-like again, but instead landing at petulant.

“And as I was just saying, our Perez plans are finally going somewhere.“ 

Cristiano decided not to remind Iker that he hadn’t really said anything up to this point, instead behaving like a 7-year old, because even though he itched to do so, it’d then take ten more minutes until they finally got to hear the news. He threw Leo a quick look, getting a bit nervous now. The Argentine still had traces of laughter on his face, but his expression had turned serious. They both knew how important this was, and Cristiano’s nerves must have showed because Leo took his hand and squeezed it assuringly.

“Well, tell us more!“, Leo commanded. And it really was a command, no doubt about it.

“We don’t want to get your hopes up too much - or our own for that matter, but let’s say that we really are getting somewhere - now it’s to praying that we’ll get what we need in the end.“

“You sure you really don’t want to tell us what you’re up to?“, Cristiano asked. In his mind this sounded all a bit too ominous to actually lead somewhere.

“We’re sure. It’s actually good that you’re not here the next few days, so nothing connects you to this“, Sergio chipped in, now serious himself. 

“You should maybe make sure that you get papped on the way home, actually. Photos are always the best proof“, Iker added.

“Who are you, Olivia Pope? Are you sure this will work? This is my boyfriend’s career you’re talking about, you know that right?“, Leo asked a bit incredulous.

“I’m Iker Casillas, and I happen to be the captain of the World Cup-winning Spanish national team, as well as Real Madrid, as well as someone who has been in a gay relationship with his not lesser famous defender for the last eight years, yet not one paper has ever written something that would even hint at that. Believe me, I know how to handle this. Any more questions?“

Cristiano had never seen someone shut their mouth so fast. Poor Leo just got his ass handed to him - Iker got a real sassy side to him that you just didn’t expect a Saint to have. 

“Thanks Capi, we’re good“, Cristiano answered for the two of them and grinned. Maybe their secret masterplan would actually work - San Iker was watching over them after all. Better to have some faith.

“Good. Cristiano, I’ll see you at training in three days, we should have some news by then. Leo, take care ok? I know you only want the best for him, but so do we“, Iker said gently.

Leo nodded slowly. “Thank you. Sincerely. We appreciate it more than we can say.“

“True. Love you guys!“, Cristiano chipped in.

“Yeah, yeah! It’s fine! I’ll see you soon“, Iker said, sounding adorably uncomfortable.

“Love you too! Don’t fuck too much, we have games to win!“, Sergio added before they heard the second slapping sound of the day and the line was suddenly dead. 

They looked each other for a second and just couldn’t hold back the laughter any longer. As he was looking at Leo laying next to him, his chest heaving with laughter and covering his face with his hand, it hit him again just how happy it made him when Leo was happy. Whatever would happen with Perez would happen - it was out of their hands. Better to live in the now and enjoy what they had than needlessly worry about something they couldn’t really influence anyway.

Having made his mind up, Cristiano was just about to ask Leo if he should make some fresh coffee as the one on the nightstand must have gone completely cold by now, but then a loud snore stopped him. His boyfriend was sleeping soundly - he still had no idea how anyone could physically fall asleep that quickly, but Leo did it time and time again - but he looked so peaceful and relaxed that Cristiano simply pulled the duvet over his lean body and shifted closer, his chest almost touching Leo’s back. Poor Leo. He must have been exhausted anyway and then to get up that early (at least for his standards) and make Cristiano breakfast apparently was that bit too much. Round two would have to wait until later - but not before Cristiano had innocently asked Leo if he wore him out so bad last night that he needed some extra rest. He grinned at the thought, already envisioning an flustered, blushing Leo who was sputtering insults at him. Just how he loved him, actually. 

He couldn’t see the other man’s face but he felt his chest rhythmically moving with every breath, making his own muscles relax as he automatically started to breathe in sync with him, making him drowsy and his eyelids heavy. His hand blindly searched for Leo’s, pressed a tender kiss to it and settled his arm around the smaller man, enveloping him in an possessive embrace. Sleep took him over in seconds. Maybe Leo was contagious. Or maybe he just didn’t feel whole without him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Iker and Sergio, ruining romantic situations like captains/older brothers are supposed to ;) What did you think good people? I was so thankful for your feedback on the last chapter, it put a smile on my face every time I thought about it! Have a great weekend everyone :)
> 
> P.S.: I really really want to write some Seriker soon... Would anyone be up for it?


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karma, bitches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, dreams do come true ;)

Leo yawned loudly as he ran a hand through his hair, his bare feet cold on the tiled kitchen floor. No way he would be up this early on a training-free Monday, but he had a meeting with Pepe and his lawyers later to talk about taking over his financial business from his father, and he had to be well prepared and ready for that. So a big, strong coffee and some breakfast it was. He drowsily stared at his coffeemaker, still half asleep, as the smell of the strong brew started to fill the room. 

His phone buzzed with a text on the counter. He smiled before even looking at it. It probably was Cristiano, wishing him luck for later. His boyfriend knew how nervous the thought of separating his business from his father made him. He had walked around with an uneasy knot in his stomach for days. Leo knew it was just the first meeting, but including lawyers made excluding his father - practically throwing him out of his life, much more real.

But the text wasn’t from Cristiano, instead from an unknown number, and it was so short that the whole text showed on the locked screen.

 _Check your door. You’re welcome. I & S_ 

Leo frowned when he first read it, but then his brain went online and into immediate overdrive. Cristiano and him had been awaiting news about Perez for almost a week now, but nothing had happened and they had decided not to push Iker and Sergio. It would all turn out as it should be, and they should just trust in that. And maybe, maybe, even if Leo didn’t dare to get his hopes up too high in case of disappointment, maybe everything had really turned out just as it was ought to be. 

He had begun walking to the door almost on autopilot, and only quickly checked the driveway for the flashing of cameras - better to be safe than sorry - but there was nobody in sight, so he cautiously opened the door. The wind blowing outside was so cold that Leo almost instantly closed it again, but then he heard a rustling noise at his feet and looked down at the rumpled brown _WELCOME_ mat his Mom bought for him when he first moved into the house. 

In front of his with goosebumps covered feet, covering about half of the mat, lay the copy of today’s _Marca._ At first he thought this was a bad joke, as if he’d ever read something from that pile of crap, but then the title headline in bold, big letters and the huge photograph under it caught his eye, and his breath stocked.

 **_FLORENTINO RESIGNS. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA AT REAL?_ **  

Leo quickly grabbed the newspaper and ran back into the house, straight to the nearest larger surface which was his huge kitchen table. His eyes flew over the title page.

**_FLORENTINO RESIGNS. THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA REAL MADRID?_ **

_EXCLUSIVE - In a completely unexpected turn of events, Real’s president Florentino Perez has resigned with immediate effect. Read more on pages 4-5._

With shaking fingers, he browsed to page four and began to read. With each sentence, his belief that this had to be one of his best dreams ever grew, because this couldn’t possibly be true: Perez resigning yesterday with immediate effect because of ‘personal' problems, rumors that the board hadn’t backed him lately, and there already being talk that Raul - _the_ Raul - would take over. And not a single mention of Cristiano, or Iker and Sergio. The team went pretty much unmentioned. It was simply unbelievable. The two captain’s of Real Madrid had beaten Perez in his own game - and his house newspaper had printed the exclusive. 

He looked for his phone, which he had left by the coffeemaker in his earlier haste, and dialed Cristiano’s number with steady fingers. It rang, and rang, and rang, but only Cristiano’s metallic voice talked back to him, having only reached his mailbox. Leo looked at the time: It was half nine in the morning - pretty much noon for Cristiano - why didn’t he pick up? He tried again, but to no avail. 

The man posted pictures on Instagram every ten minutes, was on his phone all the time, but on the one occasion you had to reach him, he didn’t pick up. Even though Leo was wide awake now, he poured himself a cup of coffee, the lukewarm liquid calming him and the caffeine kicking his brain into action. He sat down at the table and began browsing the online sites of the major Spanish media outlets. Perez grim face stared back at him from every single page. He wasn’t exactly proud of it, but seldom had someone else’s unhappiness brought him so much joy. 

Now that the initial excitement and disbelief had started to ebb away, he felt so relieved and happy for Cristiano that he could burst. They owed Iker and Sergio big time. That - Cristiano’s secured career at Real - was something they could never pay back, but he had a feeling it was as much a personal victory for Real’s captains as it was for him and Cristiano. He didn’t know how they had done it, and even if he had a small suspicion about what had maybe went down, it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was that Perez was gone and Cristiano could play freely again, not worrying about his situation at the club and what Perez might tell the media, or even worse, the board. Still, Iker’s and Sergio’s master plan had worked perfectly, and the least he could do was to answer their text and shower them with praise and gratitude.

Just as he had started typing the response to what he thought had to be Sergio’s phone, his own rang with an incoming call. In his haste to accept it, he knocked his cup over with his elbow, but barely noticed the coffee splashing all over his kitchen floor. 

Cristiano’s confused, out-of-breath voice greeted him: “Leo, is everything ok? Has something happened?“

“Where were you?? I called you about ten times!“ Leo was so agitated all of a sudden that he jumped straight over Cristiano’s question.

“I went for a long run querido, I was feeling a bit restless. Now tell me if everything is ok, you’re starting to freak me out!“

“Have you seen today’s _Marca_?“, Leo asked despite already knowing the answer.

“No, why? Somehow I had a copy of it on my doorstep, but I just threw it in the house on my way out“, Cristiano said, clearly not understanding why Leo was asking him about this.

“Get it.“

“What? Did you seriously call me fifteen times so I read that pile of crap?“

“Do as I say. Trust me, you want to.“ 

Leo’s tone seemed to convince Cristiano, because he could hear him moving and the clicking of the door as it was opened. Then there was the rustling of the newspaper and when Leo heard Cristiano’s sharp intake of breath, he felt warm all over. 

“Is this.. Is this for real?“ 

It sounded like on the other end of the line Cristiano whispered more to himself than to Leo.

“It’s for real, cariño“, Leo said softly, feeling warm all over now. It had sounded so cheesy to him whenever someone said that their partner’s happiness was their own, but now he knew exactly what they meant. He would do anything to see Cristiano happy. Anything.

“Are you sure? Completely 100% sure? Because if not, that might be the cruelest joke ever played on me.“

“I already checked every major news outlet in the country, and everybody is reporting it, even though _Marca_ had the exclusive. So yes, I’m sure. It’s true.“

“But how?! It says he resigned himself! Perez would never resign voluntarily!“

“We both know he didn’t resign out of his free will, cariño. He did it because he had no other choice.“

“Iker and Sergio“, Cristiano simply said, wonder in his voice.

“Yes. They will have to tell us what kind of dirt they had on him. It has to be so bad that he would do anything to keep it from the public. Something that would ruin his reputation forever.“

“Maybe a sex tape with a 18-year-old hooker“, Cristiano exclaimed, sounding both disgusted and delighted at the thought. Leo had to grin. It would fit, he had to say. 

“Possibly. But you know FIFA and UEFA, so many of those gross old men sleep with girls who are younger than their daughters. He’d probably be in the papers for that for two weeks max and then it’d be forgotten. No, I think it’s something bigger. Let Sergio and Iker surprise us, I say.“

“As long as none of them seduced them, made a sex tape, and blackmailed him with it, I’m all ears“, Cristiano laughed, and he sounded so genuinely joyful that Leo just had to join in. Two minutes later, they were still heaving with laughter. Leo was pretty sure that Cristiano was half crying, half laughing on the other end of the line, the realization maybe just now really hitting him.

“They really did it, babe. I’m free of him - we all are. I won’t have to transfer, Iker and Sergio will finally have the support they need if the rumors of Raul taking over are true, and the fans got what they wanted all along. I… I mean I had my hopes, but I never thought it would actually happen!“

“Good things happen to good people, Cristiano. Sometimes it’s just that easy“, Leo answered him.

“Maybe you’re right.“

“I’m definitely right.“

“Of course you are“, Cristiano said, and Leo could almost see the big, dorky grin he had to be sporting right now.

“Anyway“, his boyfriend said, sounding very businesslike all of a sudden, “I’m taking a shower now and then it’s time to celebrate. I’m facetiming you in ten minutes, so you better be in bed and gloriously naked then.“

When Leo opened his mouth to answer, Cristiano had already hung up - the only thing that Leo could hear was the dial tone. He looked at his kitchen clock - he only had half an hour before ha had to leave for his lawyer appointment. But who was he to deny Cristiano anything - especially celebratory sex. So he stood up from his chair, and with every step he took towards his bedroom, one item of clothing hit the floor. Twenty minutes was more than enough time after all. 

 

\- - - 

 

Somewhere in the outskirts of Spain’s capital, Real Madrid’s two captains lay beside each other in their shared bedroom - one man the picture of calm, the other of nervous excitement.

 “Do you think they already know?“, Sergio asked after he checked his phone for the hundredth time - again to no avail. 

Iker didn’t even open his eyes, comfortably dozing in the huge bed, next to his nervous boyfriend.

“With how ridiculously early Cristiano gets up every day? I’m sure they both know, nene. They just might be busy with… other things right now. They’ll thank us later, I’m sure.“

Sergio grinned at that.  “Ah, you think they’re having a special celebration?“

“I don’t think that, I know that“, his captain said drily. Under the duvet, his hand creeped up Sergio’s muscular thigh, stroking the sensitive inside.

“It’s not like we didn’t celebrate in the exact same fashion“, he murmured and smiled with satisfaction as he felt Sergio shiver under his fingers. Almost ten years into their relationship, and Sergio’s passionate reaction to his touch hadn’t changed, and Iker’s immense satisfaction at giving him pleasure hadn’t ceased either.

“Well, if getting Perez to resign isn’t something to celebrate in every imaginable way possible, then I don’t know what is. That dick deserves even worse!“

“No talk about Perez in my bedroom. This is a Perez free zone, we discussed this a hundred times“, Iker said in a warning voice - but still hadn’t opened his eyes. The unique calmness of a goalkeeper.

“Babe, Real Madrid is now a Perez free zone, so I don’t really give a fuck“, Sergio shot back, the delight in his voice so obvious that Iker had to smile. 

He had to admit Sergio had made a valid point there. Still. It was gross to think about that man in bed. Iker had other things he preferred to think about when he was in his bedroom. His fingers unconsciously squeezed Sergio’s thigh. When he felt a hand try to move his hand up much higher, he was secretly pleased. His boyfriend really was insatiable. 

“Nene, I’m not 22 anymore, alright? Give a guy some time to recover“, Iker groaned and threw a dramatic hand over his eyes. He felt like his whole body ached with the strain of their three rounds last night - a 90 minute Champions League was nothing against sex with Sergio.

“So not even a blowjob for a grumpy old man?“, Sergio asked innocently, his brown eyes wide. 

Iker’s shot open instantly.

“33 is not THAT old! Besides, said grumpy old managed to kick you-know-who out… So he really might deserve an award“, Iker answered hastily.

Five minutes later, enthusiastic moaning filled the room. Just as they had suspected, they weren’t the only one’s celebrating right now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! I'm so sorry for not updating earlier, but my job is so stressful right now that I'm glad I at least got this up! :( But I promise that I won't abandon this - I love it too much and I think we're nearing the end now anyway :)
> 
> P.S. Imaginarily sacking Perez gave me enormous satisfaction and I'm not even a Madridista. What did you guys think??? Any suspicions as to what Iker and Sergio blackmailed him with? I love to hear from you <33


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Real Madrid dressing room reacts to the news of Perez' sacking.

When Cristiano drove up to Valdebebas, there wasn’t a single person in sight and it was eerily quiet. He had almost expected their training session to be cancelled on the news of Perez’ resignation, but Carlo had sent a text to everyone that training would go on as scheduled. So he had reluctantly heaved himself out of bed, took the second shower of the day to wash the remains of come from his very delightful celebratory facetime session with Leo off his skin, grabbed his duffel and was on his way to Real Madrid City. 

Enjoying the afterglow would have been nice, but if he was being honest Leo’s meeting with his lawyers to separate his business from his father made his stomach clench, and some distraction was welcome. He was glad that Perez was gone, of course he was, but it was more a feeling of relief, because as much as he wanted to be able to continue here at Madrid, Leo’s happiness was so integral to his own, that even on this day he couldn’t say he was truly happy. Not with how Leo was suffering under the situation with his father. He shook his head at himself when he walked towards the locker room. That was what they meant all along when they said that sometime there would be somebody who would make football secondary in his life. He had laughed at them, but now here he was. And he wouldn’t change it for the world. Life was funny that way. 

Valdebebas was almost deserted, but the few members of the staff that crossed his way all had big smiles on their faces and greeted him enthusiastically. It was a good feeling to know that Iker and Sergio hadn’t only made his life better, but that practically everyone at the club was now working here with a lighter heart. 

Cristiano entered the locker room, waving absent-mindedly to his teammates and quickly searched for his inseparable captain duo - and sure enough they were sitting under Iker’s locker, heads closely together, laughing. After a second of hesitation he went straight over to them, dropped his training bag on the ground and enveloped them in a bear hug before they could even open their mouths to say hello. He felt two strong sets of arms winding around him, pulling him close, and all the words of gratitude died on his tongue as tears welled up in his eyes. He barely got a choked thank you out before Sergio shushed him and pressed a quick kiss to his cheek, Iker’s hand wandering up to his neck in a calming fashion, his grip strong and reassuring. There was no question about how the two had managed to force Perez to resign in his head, because it simply didn't matter. He was gone. Cristiano didn't care about the how, he only cared about the result.

They stood like that for a while, and if the rest of the squad thought their behavior to be unusual, nobody let it show, minding their own business and chatting away quietly. Even Marcelo and Isco stayed quiet on the matter, opting to tease Pepe and Alvaro instead about the atrocities that were their new pink-green boots. 

When the three players parted from their embrace, still no words exchanged, the team let Cristiano walk over to his locker without a single comment, and he had just pulled his training jersey over his head when he felt someone laying a hesitant hand on his shoulder. Somehow he just knew who it was. 

“Hey James. What’s up? Did you have a good weekend?“, he asked the young Colombian who was looking up to him. The last few weeks there had been an awkward tension between them, and he was determined to treat the other man as normally as possible. His relationship with Leo would last, and he wanted their friendship to last, too. If he belittled him for his crush, it would lead them nowhere.

“Ah yes, thank you. But I actually wanted to talk about something else with you if that’s okay?“

“Sure“, Cristiano easily. He had a feeling that he knew what was coming now.

“I know that I have been weird lately, and I’m sorry for that, but you have to know that I’m really happy for you. Honestly. You and Leo… You’re good together. And I’m glad that you’re staying now that Perez is gone“, he said, blushing more with every word but getting them out without a single stutter, never breaking eye contact. Cristiano could only imagine how much courage it must have costed him to say that. 

“Hey“, he answered, and laid a gentle hand on James’ cheek. “I know that. I always knew that. No need to apologize, nino.“

James smiled up at him timidly, his blush turning an even deeper red. 

“Really? So we’re good? Even though I behaved like a stupid dick?“

Cristiano smiled at him brightly and grasped his shoulder. 

“We’re good. We always were. Now let’s listen to what the Mister has to say, ok?“ he said and nudged James towards Carlo, who had taken up stand in the center of the dressing room during their conversation. 

His hand never left the kid’s shoulder, having a tight grip on him. James didn’t lack confidence on the pitch, but when he didn’t have grass under his feet it was a different matter. Better to reassure him that everything indeed was fine, and would stay that way.

Everybody was still talking to each other, but then Carlo raised his hand and it instantly became quiet. Carlo was deeply respected and admired by all players - even by those who didn’t play regularly, and that really said everything you needed to know about him. 

“As you all have probably heard, our president has decided to step back from his position to spend more time with his family. We are very sorry to loose such an integral person to the club’s success..“, Carlo said with an incredibly bored voice and a glint in his eyes, chewing his usual mint gum relentlessly. God, he loved Carlo. So much.

Cristiano could hear Isco snorting loudly behind him: “Yeah, right!“

“Isco!“, Carlo bellowed. “This is a very, very serious issue! Also, did nobody teach you anything about sarcasm? Anyway. Where was I..“

“We are all very sorry yadda yadda“, Marcelo chipped in with innocent puppy eyes, his tone signaling that he was anything but. 

“Ah yes, thank you“, Carlo nodded, now clearly fighting to keep a straight face. James was heaving with silent laughter under Cristiano’s hands, the Portuguese himself unable to keep himself from grinning. 

“So we’re all  very sorry to loose Perez.. Ehm Florentino and the club will miss him deeply with his contributions to our success and so on. Is there anything to else to add?“, he asked the squad. When everyone enthusiastically shook their heads, he cleared his voice and added:

“Good. Now that I’ve done my part and told you how very saddened I am to hear this news, your captains will take over to… ahem.. say the same. See you on the pitch in five. Don’t be late.“

With that, Carlo was out of the door. There were a few seconds of silence and glances to Iker and Sergio, who seemed to have a mute glaring battle as to who had to say something, until Iker won and Sergio stepped in front of the squad. 

“So obviously we’re not sorry to hear that Perez is leaving“, Sergio began, resolutely ignoring Iker’s protests. 

“Oh come on Capi, everyone knows what an asshole he has been to you and Cristiano. No sense in denying it. So I can just say that Iker and I hope that this will be the beginning of a new and better chapter for Real Madrid, with decisions being made not only regarding to money and commercial value but in the best interest of the players and the fans, and that we as captains will do everything to ensure that this will happen.“

“Hear, hear“, Marcelo shouted, and the whole squad joined in and began to clap wildly, Cristiano included. Before he knew it, there was a sort of mass group hug happening, Sergio almost being squashed in the middle, Iker being pulled in by Marcelo with a badly concealed smile on his face. 

With all the shouting and jumping around, they almost missed Carlo sticking his head in through the door and chastising them mildly: “Boys, don’t celebrate so loudly. Wouldn’t do for the press to get wind of this, ok?“

“Of course Mister“, Sergio yelled from where Alvaro and Isco were hanging on him like overgrown monkeys, ruffling up his hair. 

“Good. You have two minutes left. And don’t traumatize my second captain Isco, I still need him. I’m sure Alvaro prefers your cuddles anyway.“

Under Isco’s undignified spluttering and big laughter Carlo left the room.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did that scene with Iker, Sergio and Cristiano made me think of a really hot threesome? If you've read all of this you probably know the answer. Maybe Leo and Cris could reward them for - ahem, never mind.
> 
> Anyway *coughs*. Happy Easter everyone! I hope you enjoyed this - if so, I'm always happy about feedback :) More to come soon, I promise!


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dolores Aveiro is coming for you, Leo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Leo to meet the parents.. Enjoy good people ;)

“You’re not serious, are you?“, Leo groaned and hid his face in his hands, ignoring Pepe calmingly patting his shoulder and missing the nervous looks his lawyers threw each other.

“I’m afraid so, Sir. You have control of 40% of your assets, same as your father. Your mother owns the other 20%. In the end, you can only gain full control of them if you own the majority - more than 50 %.“

Leo stared down at the table which was so shiny that his tired face looked back at him. He angrily rubbed at the surface until he only saw his smudged handprints. 

“Which means my mother needs to sell me her part of the assets or I’ll never be in full control of my finances“, he said in a flat voice. 

He tried to imagine his fiercely catholic mother selling her assets to him so he could live happily ever after with a man. He failed doing so. Although he was sure his mother wasn’t as appalled and angry by his relationship as his father was, there was no way that she agreed with it - her radio silence whenever Leo tried to call spoke miles on her opinion of it. They had always had a close relationship and Leo had always resembled her much more than he did his father as they were both quiet, bordering on shy, but hard workers. Still, there was no way that she would go behind her husbands back and overwrite the assets he needed to him.

When he looked into Pepe’s face, it mirrored his own thoughts. He knew Leo’s family well and knew exactly how much power his father over every single member. He ruled it with an iron fist. The chance of his mother betraying him like that was almost nonexistent, and Pepe knew it. But then his friend shook his head, his eyes cleared and he looked at the two lawyers wearing shining suits that probably cost half of Leo’s monthly salary:

“Thank you gentlemen. You told us everything we need to know.“ 

The two took their cue, and when they were alone, Pepe fully turned to Leo and started to speak quietly, but emphatically.

“I know you think that there is no way your mother is going to sell to you. And three years ago I would have agreed, but things have changed. She wants to protect you from it, so she doesn’t talk to you about it, but the relationship between your parents has changed. They fight a lot, and one reason for that is that she doesn’t agree with him controlling your life to the degree he does - she knows you have a solid head on your shoulders and that you can make your own decisions!“

Leo interrupted him with a disbelieving laugh.

“Pepe, I’ve never seen my mother openly disagree with anything my father has said. Ever. She won’t support me in this of all things. You know she doesn’t approve of my relationship with Cristiano - and then also going behind my father’s back? There’s no chance of that happening.“

“Don’t underestimate her, Leo. She is still your mother - your happiness was always more important to her than your success and your career and you know it. Have some faith and at least give her a chance.“

 

\- - -

 

It had taken days and days of Pepe and Cristiano talking to him nonstop, trying to convince him - and in the end both of them had gotten their will. He would attempt to persuade his mother to sell her assets to him, even though  Leo was sure it would remain an attempt. But as Cristiano had put it:

“She is your mother. You owe her to give her the opportunity to prove you wrong. To put your happiness and wellbeing over your fathers wishes and her own opinion about what is right for you. And you owe it to yourself, and to us to at least try it. If you don’t, you will never know what would have been.“

And what could Leo respond to that? Because of course Cristiano was right. After all they had been through at this point, at least trying wouldn’t hurt. But he was stubborn and it had taken him some time to muster up his courage to call his mother to invite her to Barcelona. It took some coaxing, and she had sounded frosty, but to his surprise she had agreed to come. 

If he was completely honest, maybe even Cristiano’s words wouldn’t have changed his mind if he hadn’t finally met Dolores, his boyfriend’s mother. They had had a Champions League free week, so he had flown over to Madrid visit Cristiano, and when he opened the door and expected to be greeted by Cristiano’s familiar voice, Dolores’ warm words greeted him instead. Somehow she treated him as if she had known him all his life - affectionate and warm, as if Leo was part of the family. His relationship to Cristiano seemed so normal to her, she never even mentioned it, and Cristiano touched and kissed him in front of his mother as if she wasn’t even here. 

Everything was so normal, it almost hurt - it hurt to think that this sort of normalcy was something Leo would never be able to give Cristiano with his own family. The thought haunted him, so when the opportunity arose and he was alone with her watching TV on the living room couch, he just had to ask.

“How do you do it?“, he asked, wildly gesturing around himself. “You can’t be happy that of all the people he could have, Cristiano chose to be with me! You just can’t be!“, he added quietly. 

Dolores looked at him for a few moments.

“My son is special. I’ve always known that, long before he became this successful. He has achieved everything I could ever wish for him to achieve in his career. But I’m his mother, and as glad as I am to see him succeed, what I want most for him is to be happy. I’ve always known that he needed someone special in his life to really complete it, to make him as happy as he deserves to be. And even a blind person could see that you are that someone. So it doesn’t matter to me that you are Lionel Messi and he is Cristiano Ronaldo and that of all partners he could have chose, you are probably the most complicated one. Because you make him as happy as I’ve never seen him before, and I don’t care about anything else.“

Leo could only stare at her in wonder. Her somber expression turned into a smile as she patted his hand and got up.

“And now excuse me dear, I have a cake in the oven that both of you are going to eat because you’re too thin, and it won’t do to burn it.“

When Cristiano strutted into the room a few minutes later complaining on how his mother wanted to make him fat, he was still deep in thought even if his mind was made up, and only his boyfriend dropping unceremoniously on his lap made him lose focus. Out of reflex, he wrapped his arms around Cristiano’s waist, securing him from falling down. The Portuguese opened his mouth, probably to continue his complaining, but something in Leo’s expression must have stopped him. 

He lay a hand on Leo’s cheek and asked:

“Everything alright, querido?“

The passionate kiss he got in response must have answered his question, and after they parted a few minutes or hours later all Leo said was:

“I’m going to call my mother. You are right, she deserves a chance, and I will give it to her. And now let’s go eat some cake, because that’s the least you can do for your mom."

And so they did. Cristiano was so happy, he even ate two pieces of cake (even if Leo saw him do extra sessions in the gym after, it had been worth it to see Dolores’ disbelieving expression).

\- - - 

All of that had let him here, a few days later, to one of the private gates of Barcelona’s El Prat airport. When he saw a small, familiar figure approaching, he took a deep breath and straightened his back. Time to face his mother. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back, and I'm sorry it took so long, but work has been crazy yadda yadda. As an apology I give you Dolores, a mother as cool as anyone could hope to have!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Momma Messi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's always great when your parents expect you to be the adult in the relationship.

At first, both Leo and his mother didn’t seem to know what do, coming to a halt about two meters apart from each other. His mother threw him an unsure, hesitant look, and he felt his face harden. Just as Leo asked himself if it had really come to this, his own mother not embracing him after not seeing each other for months, she took the last two steps towards him and enveloped him in a brief, stiff hug. But when his mother hugged him, she usually clutched him to her chest for at least half a minute, smothering him with kisses, and poking his sides and ribs to see if he had gotten to skinny again. This felt nothing like that: It felt cool and distant, and most likely she did it more out of habit than out of real joy at seeing him again. 

When they parted, Celia instantly took a step back. Leo wondered if she even noticed that she did that - putting space between herself and her son. Before he could say anything, she started to speak.

“You look good, son“, she said without preamble, but it had surprised undertone that Leo didn’t appreciate at all. Before he had met Dolores, his family not accepting his relationship had seemed normal to him in a way. He hadn’t really expected or even has hope for them to react differently. Leo had expected intolerance and aversion and that had been exactly what he got, especially from his father. But then he had experienced the way Dolores treated her son - and him for that matter. She loved Cristiano wholeheartedly, and even if she might have preferred him to be with a woman, his happiness was all that mattered to her in the end. She had looked further than at the religious and moral values she had been taught all her life, had questioned them for the sake of her son.

And that had changed Leo’s perspective on a lot of things. His parents’ ignorance had always appeared normal to him, and even if he had been sad about it, he couldn’t really get angry about it.  Now, as he looked in his mother’s face for the first time since his forced coming out, he did feel sad. And he felt anger brewing up in his bones. He was their child after all, did his happiness really mean nothing to them? But he swallowed it down for now, forced to get a somewhat pleasant expression on his face, and answered through his teeth:

“Thank you. I feel good“, Leo pressed out. At her incredulous look, he added: “Happiest I’ve ever been, actually.“ 

He regretted his bratty, childish tone the instant he had said it. Before she could scold him for actually being happy when his whole family was ashamed for him - and she by the vigorous shaking of her head she seemed like she was one second before starting a lengthy rant - he unceremoniously grabbed her by the arm to get her moving.

“Let’s get to the car before starting any discussions, alright? You’ve been here for two minutes, this is not the time nor the place for it.“

Celia opened her mouth to retort, but the interested looks from some of the bystanders around them made her stop in her tracks. She then simply nodded, pushed her luggage in Leo’s hands, and began to stalk towards the exit sign. Leo looked down at the gigantic Louis Vuitton travel bag he had paid an obscene amount of money for and sighed. At least something hadn’t changed. 

\- - -

Leo sat at the steering wheel of his black Range Rover, and appreciated the quiet while it lasted. His mother hadn’t said a word until now, staring out of the window instead, and he guessed it was up to him to make an effort even after the shaky start. It had been very weird for him to see her again, and he had been anxious about it - why should it have been different for her? So he needed to cut her some slack.  Leo let out a small sigh - it was always great when your parents expected you to be the adult in the relationship. But he had invited her, so it was really up to him.

“Do you want me to bring you to the hotel first and then grab some dinner, or go for a bite right away?“, Leo asked as he changed onto the motorway and headed towards the city. 

Inwardly he prayed for her to want to go to the hotel first - he needed to call Cristiano in Madrid for some advice. The man could charm the pants off anyone - especially older women - so maybe he could help him out, and he had promised to stay in tonight should Leo need any support. 

Needless to say, his prayers weren’t answered.

“Hotel?! Are you crazy son? You will bring me to your place! I’m your mother, and you want to ship me off to some hotel! Madre de dios!“, his mother exclaimed.

Celia had finally given up her pensive window staring and had turned completely towards him, her face getting redder and redder. The both of them had their usually calm nature in common, but when their temper was awoken, they could go angry in an instant. With Leo, it showed on the pitch. With his mother it was when someone told her what to do in her kitchen - her very own football pitch, if Leo thought about it.

“I didn’t think you would want to stay at my place, mother“, he said calmly, trying to explain himself. 

“I just thought you would prefer to have you own space after the radio silence of the last months. I was only trying to be considerate.“

“Well I don’t prefer it “, she said indignantly, but the tension in her words had disappeared. 

“Just take me to your house, as you always do, ok?“, Celia asked and briefly put her hand on Leo’s on the gear stick. 

Leo didn’t know how to feel. On the one hand, he knew exactly what that meant. His mother wanted to get something off her chest, and she wanted to say it as early as possible. And since she apparently couldn’t say it in a public space, it wouldn’t be pleasant. It was a small comfort in this situation, but at least it could be nowhere as bad as what his father had already said to him. What was a much bigger comfort though was that he could finally be open with Cristiano about it, no more lying, no more staying silent. That made everything bearable.

On the other hand, his mother words and gesture gave him a glimmer of hope that maybe, maybe they could patch things up a bit. At least she wanted to stay with him, she wanted to talk to him. And he needed to get a few things off his chest as well, things that his father would never stay long enough to listen to. 

So he nodded his approval and took the next exit-ramp towards the small suburb of Barcelona in which he lived in. Silence settled in the car again, but this time Leo felt more comfortable in it. What would happen once they reached his home might not be pretty, but either way, he would hopefully get some closure. What his situation and the fight with Cristiano had taught him was that it was always better to get things out in the open. If you didn’t talk about it, you could never move on. And if he was very lucky, his mother felt the same way.

They drove up to his house not 20 minutes later and as Leo got off the car, his feet felt increasingly heavy. He frowned as he saw that he had left his kitchen lights on in his hurry to leave the house. He gave his mother 10 seconds to comment on it as he took her suitcase out of the trunk. 4-3-2-

“There’s no need to leave the lights on, even if you have the money to pay the power bill for all of Barcelona, son“, she rebuked him. 

Leo again was grateful for the small things in their relationship that hadn’t changed. He had to hold on to those. So he just nodded and mumbled a short apology as he always did.

Celia walked towards the entrance and tipped in the entrance code - her date of birth - and as the door opened with a click, she turned around to Leo with a small smile on her face, who couldn’t help but smile back. He had almost reached her as she entered the house, but what he heard now let the Louis Vuitton suitcase drop out of his hands and on the ground with a loud thump.

“You’re back so early, querido! What happened?“

Two seconds later, a concerned face joined the voice as Cristiano came running out into the hallway from the kitchen. He still had a wooden cooking spoon in his hand, but when he saw who was standing in the door, it joined the suitcase on the floor with a clinging sound.

Well shit. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very fitting to post this on mother's day ;) As Champions League is now finished for my team (BOOOOO), I hope I will get some more writing done. Your comments really encourage me to keep going, so thank you very much for that as always <3


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cristiano meets Leo's mother and it's proven once again that one should never underestimate a woman.

Leo stood there, and his feet felt stuck to the ground. All he could see was his mother’s back and Cristiano’s almost comically surprised and shocked face. Leo was sure his he didn’t look much different. He had been on the phone to his boyfriend not two hours ago, feeling better with the knowledge that he would be able to reach him in his Madrid home later should things with his mother go not as he hoped them to. And now he stood here in Barcelona with what looked like to be tomato sauce stains on his white t-shirt, clad in some of Leo’s old training Barca shorts (the only types of clothing item they could share), with his feet bare. He must have made a surprise trip over to support him. And even if in the first second Leo had felt cold when he saw him, scared about how his mother would react and if Cristiano being here would only worsen the situation, now warmth started to prickle in his body. He was no longer alone, they would get through this as an unit, a couple, partners. To say it was a comfort would have been an understatement.

But nobody said anything at first, stunned into a heavy and uncomfortable silence. Just in the second that Leo saw his mother starting to turn around to him, probably to ask him what the hell was going on, Cristiano’s facial expression turned into his best cordial, polite smile, and he closed the small gap to Leo’s mother in three quick steps and extended his hand.

“Senora Messi, I’m Cristiano. It’s so nice to finally meet you, Leo has told me so much about you!“

More or less on autopilot, Leo was sure, his mother shook Cristiano’s hand and he only heard a faint: “Nice to meet you as well“ in response.

Leo couldn’t hide his admiring grin to Cristiano. Cristiano had unparalleled instincts for defenders’s weaknesses on the pitch, almost as if he could smell them, and just like that the Portuguese had sensed his mother’s one second of weakness, her still stunned by his mere being at the house, and had more or less forced her into a normal, friendly introduction. His mother was in no way like his father, and she would never be outright rude to Cristiano, her manners simply forbade her that. But by being so polite himself, his boyfriend had more or less forced her into reciprocating. 

“Let Leo get your suitcase upstairs, Senora. And maybe something to eat? I started to prepare some pasta and salad for Leo and myself. You must be hungry after the long flight and the dreadful plane food?“

And without even giving her the chance to answer Cristiano rushed past her and pressed a quick, but heartfelt kiss to Leo’s lips. Leo would have given everything to see his mother’s face in that second. Everything. He felt Cristiano’s light smile in the kiss, and the reassuring hand on his shoulder seemed to tell him “I got this - relax and watch!“ 

He wasn’t at all convinced that that would be the case, but to be honest he was still too shellshocked to say anything. When they parted, his mother’s back was turned to them again, but that didn’t hold Cristiano back at all, walking back to her and steering her into conversation again. 

“Let’s go to the kitchen so you can sit down a bit. I’ll put your case by the stairs and Leo can make up one of the guest rooms while I cook, right Leo?“

“Yes, sure. Good idea!“, he got out.

“The one with the light blue walls, as always Leo“, his mother commanded as she threw him a bewildered look over the shoulder on which Cristiano’s free hand was currently steering her towards the kitchen. 

“I would have never dared to choose any other room mother“, he replied with a small roll of the eyes. 

 

\- - -

 

Leo stood at the door of what he always called his mother’s room in his head, looked at the perfectly made-up bed and the window he had opened to let some fresh air in, and mentally steeled himself for what, no matter how friendly Cristiano and cooly polite his mother would be, would probably end up to be a rather uncomfortable evening. With the thought that he would be able to go to bed and wake up tomorrow with Cristiano by his side regardless, he walked down the stairs and joined Celia and his boyfriend in the kitchen, which smelled strongly of tomato sauce. 

Cristiano was standing at the stove, his mother watching him from her usual place at the kitchen table, and Leo joined her, even if he would have felt much more comfortable next to Cristiano. 

“Smells great, Cris“, he said, simply to have said something and kneaded his fingers nervously. What even are you supposed to say when your anti-gay, strictly christian mother gets thrown into meeting your boyfriend? Better to keep the conversation in a neutral zone. To his enormous surprise, his mother agreed.

“It does. What herbs did you put in to make it smell so fresh?“, she inquires, and before Leo knew it she stood up to take a peak into the pot boiling on the stove. Leo should have known that if anything could make her talk, it was cooking, her passion. 

Cristiano threw Leo a surprised look - apparently the two of them hadn’t talked much until now - or more likely, his mother hadn’t said anything, but he answered nonetheless.

“Just some oregano, basil, and fresh citrus juice. I have the recipe from my Mom, she has been cooking it for me and my siblings since we were children. A family recipe if you will.“

After a short pause he added: “She cooked it for Leo and me just last week, actually.“

Judging about how uncomfortable Celia looked, that had hit home. She turned to Leo.

“You’ve met his family?“

“I have. They’ve been very welcoming“, Leo answered calmly, even though his heart was racing. 

This was a delicate subject, and even though he understood why Cristiano had brought it up, he wasn’t sure if it would make his mother see the error of his ways. 

“My family is happy when I’m happy“, Cristiano said with a glint in his eyes. “And I’ve never been as happy in my life as I’ve been since I’ve been with Leo. They adore him too, so that might have also played a role in them welcoming him this warmly.“

Leo closed his eyes at that. He loved Cristiano fiercely for saying that, but that must have pushed too far, and sure enough-

“Cristiano, would you give us some time alone please? I think Leo and I have some things we need to talk about“, his mother asked, tone not even unkind but definitely not taking no for an answer. But Cristiano only complied after Leo resignedly nodded his approval. He gave Leo’s shoulder a short but heartfelt squeeze and left the room. Leo heard the door to the living room click shut, and immediately tensed up again. He had a hunch that he knew what was coming now, and braced himself for the discussions that would follow. 

“I know exactly why you invited me here, Lionel. And so you don’t have to use up all your willpower to ask me, yes, I will overwrite my part of the company shares to you“, Celia said without any preamble, ripping Leo out of revising his prepared and carefully structured arguments - about his relationship with Cristiano and the assets - in his mind. 

“I.. How did you even know this is why I invited you?“, he asked, to surprised to lie or deny it. She couldn’t actually be serious. He had laid awake every single night since he invited her, thinking about how to convince her, which arguments would make her see reason. And now she simply gave the company shares to him without him even asking? That was just too good to be true.

“I always thought it would only be a matter of time until you would want to separate your business from your father“, Celia replied with a shrug.

“And with you getting together with Cristiano, and all the trouble and turmoil that entails, I’m not surprised that that has sped up your decision. I can understand why you think that this is the best time to finally separate family and business. Don’t think that I didn’t know that that thought has been spooking in your mind for some years - I’m your mother, I could always tell.“

“Has meeting Cristiano played a role in your decision?“, he asked hopefully, coming right to the question he wanted the answer to most of all. 

“I would have given you the shares in any case, Lionel. Yes, I think I like Cristiano and I can see why you want him in your life, but that has no impact on my decision. Your father has too much control over your life as it is now, and I trust you to do well for yourself without his constant pressure and input,“ Celia said with a loud sigh. 

“You do?“, Leo asked in a small voice.

“Of course I do. I have faith in you to do the right thing, and I know you are old and smart enough to make your own decisions. In life, and regarding your career. Especially because your father and you don’t have the same objectives in mind. He thinks much more materialistically than you, and I think that could hurt you in the long run.“

“But what about father? He won’t be pleased to say the least if he hears that you’ve given me full control!“

“Ah, leave your father to me. I’ve been handling him for 35 years and he will get over it. Eventually at least“, Celia said with a firm voice. 

Leo still couldn’t really believe his ears. He reached out to take his mother’s hand, his grip probably too tight, but he couldn’t help it. 

“Thank you. Thank you so much“, Leo got out, hoping he can convey at least some of the enormous gratitude he is feeling. With the way his mother held on to him, she seemed to understand him. The both of them never needed many words to communicate, and so they sat there in the silence for a few moments.

When his mother started to speak again, her expression turned serious again.

“That doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t prefer for you to be with a nice woman, Lionel.“

Leo's heart sank at that. He should have known that there was a catch to all of it. No matter how much his mother loved him, she just couldn’t get out of her conservative mindset. He pulled his hand out of hers, because no matter how glad he was for her overlooking his relationship in her decision, it still hurt and the disappointment stung.

 “But still, you could do a lot worse. I… I can see that he loves you very much whenever he looks at you“, she said after a short pause, staring down at the table. 

“And isn’t that the only thing a mother should want for her child?“, Celia added with a slightly sad smile, finally looking Leo in the eyes. 

Leo opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out. His mother only smiled at him and lay a hand on his cheek as she stood up from the kitchen table.

“Plus, I can’t say that a part of me didn’t expect it, with how you and Kun used to behave around each other. Good night son.“

Leo just stared after her and barely registered the short goodnight she bade Cristiano, who slid onto the kitchen bench next to him a few moments later. 

“And? What did she say?“, his better half asked him in a quiet voice, laying a reassuring hand on Leo’s thigh. 

The touch instantly calmed him, and instead of replying, he threw his arms around Cristiano’s neck and simply held on, breathing in his familiar scent. Cristiano instantly answered the hug, pressing Leo close to him and kissing his cheek. He seemed to understand that Leo needed to collect himself, so they just sat there for a few minutes, embracing. Leo was reluctant to break the silence, but he knew that Cristiano burned to know what his mother had decided on. 

“She agreed“, he simply said, knowing that his boyfriend would understand. 

After all that they had gone through since their forced coming out, they had still managed to come out alive. Cristiano would stay at Real, Perez was gone, and Leo was finally, finally free of his father and could make his own decisions. And who knew, maybe his mother would come around someday. Somehow his eyes were watering now, and when he started to look down to hide his face, Cristiano’s firm hand on his chin stopped him.

“Shh, Querido. It’s ok. Just let it out“ he said gently, and wiped some of the tears away that ran down Leo’s face. He let Leo cry silently, simply running his hands through Leo’s hair, seemingly not caring one bit that tears soaked his shirt. 

“You don’t seem surprised at all! As if you always knew that this would happen!“, Leo inquired after he had calmed down at bit and the reality of what had just happened sunk in more and more. 

Cristiano just smiled and took him in his arms again.

“Let’s just say that I had faith in the mother who has raised such an incredible son to make the right decision once more.“

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is almost the end good people - only two chapters to go... I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I loved writing it! Celia did come around in her own way in the end and I would love to hear your opinion on it!
> 
> For the final chapters we move on from conflict and angst to fluff and smut! See you soon xx


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it. The Clasico. The last crucible of Leo's and Cristiano's relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, here we are. The last chapter of this story, and the one I wanted to write for months. Enjoy!

Cristiano stood in the tunnel at the Camp Nou, his eyes closed, and let the excited chatter of his teammates wash over him. This was it. The Clásico. The second of the two games in the la Liga season that all Barca and Real players desperately wanted to win. The game that truly brought honor to the crest. And the first Clásico in which Leo and him were properly together, a couple everyone watching would know about. To say that he was tense would be an understatement. Him and Leo had talked about it, of course they had, but what really was there to say? I _love you, but in that 90 minutes I don’t want anything more than to beat you?_ They both knew that the other felt that way, it was in their nature, their fierce competitive spirit that had brought them to where they were now. A character trait they shared and allowed them to understand each other in a way almost no other person could. So they had promised each other to try to not make a big deal out of it, to play the game just like they would any other Clásico, and that the loser, should there be one, had a free pass to be left alone for the next few days to chew in peace on the defeat.

Still, it was all easier said than done, and now he felt more nervous than usual, trying to breathe rhythmically and calm himself down, but not really succeeding. When he felt a hand touch the small of his hand, he didn’t have to open his eyes to know who it belonged to. 

Leo hesitantly smiled up at him, looking just as nervous as Cristiano felt, his skin an unhealthy yellow-green. Good to know he wasn’t the only one secretly dreading this game. Well, not good, but at least they felt the same way about this. When their eyes met, his body relaxed for a second, and he couldn’t help but smile at the other man.

“Hey querido. Prepared to lose?“, he teased, relieved to fall in a familiar pattern. Leo’s timid smile turned devilish in an instant, and before Cristiano knew it, Leo’s hand wandered up to his neck, pulling him down to bite down sharply on his bottom lip. 

“We’ll see who will lose here“, he whispered against his mouth. Cristiano could only stare down at him - thank God that there were no camera’s allowed in the tunnel.

“UGH, NO KISSING! Don’t fraternize with the enemy, Leo! I might never recover from that trauma“, Dani shouted from where he stood behind Xavi in the line, who instantly shushed him. Sometimes Cristiano got the impression that Xavi was not only the brain of the team, but also the exasperated but well meaning father.

“What he said“, Sergio added next to him, before it dawned on him that he had just agreed with Dani Alves. He looked about as baffled and then embarrassed about it as Cristiano felt. Honestly, he had never expected to live to see this day.

Dani held out his hand in an offer of a fist pump, but then Sergio and him looked down at it, seemed to recover, and both shook their heads.

“No, that might be too much.“

“Yeah, I agree.“

“Good.“

Dani drew is hand back and they were back on resolutely ignoring each other, just as it was supposed to be. Leo squeezed his neck one more time, threw him a hot look and got in line behind Neymar who had been staring at them with big eyes, and before Cristiano knew it,he had taken the hand of his excited ball kid and they were making their way towards the pitch, the screams of the audience getting louder and louder. And with the increasing noise level, he was able to draw back into himself and focus on the task that lay ahead: Winning this crucial away game to ultimately clinch the league. When the referee started the game, all thoughts of Leo were forgotten, the shouts of the audience fading in the background. There was only the feeling of the grass under his boots, his awareness of his teammates around him, and the ball at his feet. 

The following 94 minutes were a blur. When Cristiano was asked later how he had experienced the game, he didn’t have to lie to say that he remembered only two things: His own goal for the lead, a header with a beautiful assist from James, and of course Leo’s equalizer not ten minutes later. There was such a tension in the air, both teams highly concentrated and going for the win, that the time went by so fast - but in some ways also slow, with how important every moment in the game could become. Cristiano’s need, thirst and want for the win were there like in each game, and if he had been a bit worried before that he wouldn’t be able to focus properly when Leo was sharing the pitch with him, his fears were unfounded. All he felt when Leo scored was anger and frustration that they had given the lead away so easily. So he ran, and he fought, and he tackled, and he shot, but both teams were so balanced that the scoresheet didn’t change, no matter how much sweat and energy they put in. 

With the final whistle, the whole Camp Nou fell silent: The impassioned screams and chants of Culés and Madridistas alike fading away, until it felt like it was so eerily quiet that you could hear a pin drop. Cristiano felt like suddenly every pair of eyes in the stadium, including his teammates’, focussed on him and Leo, eagerly awaiting their reaction. 

They were standing about fifteen meters apart from each other, and judging by Leo’s unsure look, he also didn’t know what to do now. They had discussed how weird playing against each other for the first time as a couple would be plenty of times, but all those conversations had been about the game itself. Neither of them had thought about what it would be like on the pitch afterwards, when they had actually pulled through.

This was when the realization hit Cristiano: They had made it. They had played 90 minutes against each other with the whole world watching, they had both fought so hard for the win as they would in any other game, maybe even more so. All of that despite being opponents and knowing full well that they would have to share a bed with the other - maybe losing - party tonight. And Cristiano was disappointed with not winning, he really was, but that only was a small thought on the back of his mind. Because despite going through these past few months, who easily had been had been some of the hardest of his life, Leo and him were still standing here - together, and stronger because of it. They had passed their last test, and it was like the last bits of the huge weight that he had been carrying around with him since that night in Switzerland fell off. Finally, finally he was sure that they had made it through - that no matter what the future would throw at them, they would be able to deal with it.

His thoughts must have been showing on his face, because Leo took a few hesitant steps towards him, a small smile on his face. Cristiano felt his own legs moving without any conscious effort, and even if it were only ten meters, the walk to Leo still felt much too long. They came to a halt in front of each other, both grinning stupidly now.

“You played well cariño“, Leo said to him, beaming and not even bothering to cover his mouth with his hand. They had nothing too hide after all, for all Cristiano cared the world could listen in to the whole conversation.

“You too. Good goal“, he winked, and because he simply couldn’t stand a centimeter of distance between each other, he pulled Leo close to him, hugging him so tightly he was sure the other man had to have trouble breathing, but Leo seemed to hold on just as much. He could feel Leo’s frantic heartbeat against his chest, his own heart hammering, pumping all of the adrenaline and endorphins through his blood.

It was an onslaught on his senses, everything felt heightened: Leo’s musky smell, the feeling of his smaller body against his own and his strong arms around his waist, the blaugrana of his jersey and the green of the pitch. But it was stilly unusually quiet in the stadium. He would have liked nothing more than to pull Leo’s head up and kiss him senseless - and he had a hunch that Leo didn’t feel much different - but their relationship, as ridiculous as it might sound with the whole world watching their embrace, was something private and intimate, something that only belonged to them. As a couple, they were just Leo and Cristiano, and not Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the worlds two most famous footballers, and they wanted to keep it that way.

So they reluctantly parted, not quite ready to let this moment and each other go. Cristiano immediately missed the contact, and judging by the warm, amused look Leo threw him, his face showed it.

“So.. We actually managed to play against each other and come out alive with our relationship intact. What now?“, Leo inquired teasingly. 

He looked more relaxed and happy than Cristiano had seen him in months, his posture one of easy confidence, his face covered in a slight blush, the still pale skin contrasting beautifully with the deep blue and red of his kit. 

Suddenly Cristiano knew exactly what he wanted to do next. It only took one questioning glance at Leo who for some cosmic reason had apparently thought the exact same thing. They might not want to showcase their relationship by kissing on the pitch in front of the whole 90 000 spectators, or better: the whole world - but there was something that would state that they belonged to each other even more, and in a much more subtle way.

Without saying a word, they pulled their respective jerseys over their heads and handed it to the other. Cristiano looked down at the Barcelona jersey in his hands, the bright yellow MESSI stitched on it, and without a second of hesitancy he put it on. It was a tight fit, but somehow, it felt completely right on him. Good thing Leo wore his kits two sizes too big. He smoothed down the fabric, took a deep breath to prepare himself for the sight of Leo in his jersey, and looked up. In hindsight, he should have known that nothing could prepare him for that. 

His jersey naturally hung loosely on Leo’s slim frame, coming to rest mid-thigh. He should have looked like a kid wearing his older brother’s clothes, but he wore the white with so much pride and dignity that the sight made Cristiano simultaneously feel warmth in his heart and heat all over his body. He saw a hint of collarbone peaking through the too-wide collar of the jersey, and Leo’s colorful tattoos looked incredible against the pure white, almost gleaming a little from under his rolled-up sleeves. He looked beautiful. Leo’s colors would forever be red and blue, Cristiano knew that, and he didn’t want it any other way for Leo’s sake, but damn. He was born to wear the white. 

Their eyes ran all over each other, Leo’s pupils blown so wide that his normally warm brown eyes looked as black as he had seldom seen them, and he knew in his bones at that moment that this wouldn’t be the last time they wore each others jerseys. It wouldn’t take much for him to throw his good intentions over board and jump Leo on the pitch right now, fuck everybody seeing them, fuck privavy, fuck their reputation. His other half seemed to sense that and threw an arm around his shoulder, leading him to the exit before he embarrassed them. Which only proved his much argued point that Leo indeed was the better half in their relationship. 

“Better get me out of here fast, or I can guarantee for nothing and will suck you right here instead of traditionally and romantically in an old, dingy storage room like I had planned“, he breathed into Leo’s ear, feeling him shiver violently against his body before he fastened his steps. They felt everyone’s eyes following them as they walked off the pitch, the looks of the audience burning each others names into their backs, and it was the most pleasant burn Cristiano had ever felt.

In the following hours, the image of them leaving the pitch with their arms around each others shoulders, **MESSI** stretched on Cristiano’s broad back as he leaned down to whisper in Leo’s ear, **RONALDO** adorning Leo’s slim one, went around the world. Completely by accident they replaced the famous picture of them in that hotel room in Zurich, which nobody had never been supposed to see, with something they were proud to share and had done so freely. But no matter how often they were asked, they never revealed just what Cristiano had whispered in Leo’s in that moment. 

The two jerseys they swapped in that warm night in the Camp Nou now grace the fireplace in their Spanish home - a hybrid jersey, half Madrid, half Barcelona.

This amazingly stunning art is by the crazily talented [detodores](http://detodores.tumblr.com), please check her tumblr out and show her some love and sing her praises! Thank you again dear!!!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for coming on this ride with me! This was my first fic, and I could have never envisioned the amazing reactions I got from all of you! I would love to hear your thoughts on the ending and on the fic in general, so please drop me a comment, it would mean the world! :)
> 
> An epilogue will post in the next days, and I'm sure I will return to these characters again: I just loved writing them. See you soon xx


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You would have thought Cristiano and Leo would have learned to lock the door...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is pure crack and I apologize (ok I don't).

“God, I wanted to do that to you the second the game was over“, Cristiano panted against Leo’s mouth and ran his hands over the Argentine’s chest, still clad in glorious Real Madrid white. The second there were no reporters or anybody with a camera-ready smartphone in hand, he had pulled his boyfriend in the next best room. Funnily enough, it had turned out to be an old storage room - not too different from the one in Rio de Janeiro where everything had started. Time is a flat circle and all that. 

“I had an inkling you might have“, Leo grinned, himself enjoying the sight of Cristiano wearing the red and blue as if it were his natural colors. 

“But no more talking. I think you have a promise to deliver on“, he added as he pulled the Madrid jersey over his head and carefully laid it down on the shelf next to him. Cristiano grinned and promptly followed his example, and the blaugrana joined its counterpart. He loved when feisty Leo came out.

“Do I?“, he asked innocently as he ran his hands over Leo’s flat stomach, the skin gleaming with swear as his fingertips left goosebumps in their wake. 

“You know you do“, Leo panted, and impatient as he only was after games, grabbed Cristiano’s hand and put it exactly where he wanted it.

“Someone’s eager today“, his boyfriend murmured, but didn’t have the heart or patience to tease Leo much longer. It wasn’t as if the Argentine was the only one who felt glowing need in his bones, the desire to join their bodies burning fiercely. When he pressed his palm against the growing bulge, Leo moaned so loudly that Cristiano had to press his free hand against his mouth to keep him silent.

“Shhsh querido. You don’t want to grace the front pages tomorrow for the wrong reasons, do you?“

That didn’t stop him to rub against Leo through the fabric - a man could only have some amount of strength and willpower, and what he had left vaporized when his boyfriend had the nerves to lick the hand still covering his mouth and even had the nerves to shoot him a teasing look.

So he practically ripped Leo’s shorts of him, not even letting him step out of it, and gracelessly fell to his knees. Who cared about dignity and grace if one had a panting Leo Messi in front of them?

He pressed a teasing kiss to the creamy inside of Leo’s thigh, biting the spot lightly and grinning at the sound of protest from his boyfriend, and decided to have mercy on him. But the sudden sound of the door opening and loud giggling interrupted him, Cristiano instinctively standing up and moving even closer to Leo, shielding him from view. 

Leo peaked through from under his boyfriends arm, prepared for the worst (which would be staring into a camera lense) and what he saw made his breath stock. Because there wasn’t one intruder, there were two. And they were entwined in a passionate embrace, the taller of the two men pressing his lover up against the door, only showing his back to the room. However, that was the only thing Leo needed to see to know just who had interrupted his and Cristiano’s little after-game rendezvous - name clad jerseys helped with identification. But the taller one of the duo was hiding the other man from view, and Leo really wanted to know which person the man had pulled into a dirty storage room to make out with. 

And his wish was granted soon enough. The taller man pressed one last kiss to eager lips before moving to suck kisses into the tattooed neck offered up to him. The hidden man threw his head back with a moan, his hands grabbing his partner’s hair for support and opened his eyes for the first time since entering, finally showing his face to the room.

That was the exact second when he realized that they weren’t alone.

“What the fuck?!“, Neymar shrieked and pried a completely confused James Rodriguez from his neck. His eyes became so huge that it was almost comical, and Leo had to suppress a laugh. James had apparently become mute, as his mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out of it. The flush of excitement on his face only deepened when he fully took the couple in that was staring at him and Neymar. His eyes lingered a bit too long on Cristiano’s broad back for Leo’s taste.

“Didn’t I tell you to lock the door?“, Leo broke the silence, sounding very dignified for someone with his shorts around his ankles and only Cristiano’s body covering his nudity.

“You might have“, his boyfriend agreed calmly. “I was a bit distracted though.“

“Understandable“, said Leo with a nod.

Neymar and James stared at them like they had lost their minds completely now.

“Well?“, Cristiano asked the intruders with raised eyebrows. 

No reaction. The duo probably hadn’t decided if they should run away screaming or ask to join in - not that he could blame them. Neymar still stared at Leo a bit too hungrily for Cristiano’s taste. Time to help them along with their decision.

“Boys, age before beauty. Get yourself another dingy storage room to fuck in, this one is occupied!“, he commanded and pointed to the door.

James blushed even more furiously, stuttered his excuses and pretty much dragged Neymar out of the room, who somehow still managed to wink at Leo before the door closed behind them with a bang. That kid just screamed trouble.

Leo’s “Use protection and don’t forget to lock the door“ came a second after the door banged shut.

“Kids these days“, Cristiano said lightly. “No respect for their elders.“ 

When their eyes met they couldn’t hold in their laughter anymore, Leo clasping Cristiano’s shoulder to stay upright, hiding his face in his lover’s chest, Cris himself heaving with laughter. It took a while until they had calmed down enough to speak.

“Do you think we have traumatized them forever?“, Leo asked in a embarrassingly high voice and pressed a quick kiss just over Cristiano’s heart.

“Traumatized? I think all of their wet dreams came true when they opened that door!“, Cristiano answered and the two were back to laughing uncontrollably. 

“But honestly, I’m glad they have.. whatever they have with each other“, Leo stated when they had sobered down a bit.

“I have thought about how they would make a good pair actually“, Cristiano mused. “Both are young, driven and are able understand what it means to shoulder the massive expectations of their countries. It could actually work out. And they sure don’t look like they lack the passion.“

“Just like us then - only we’re not young anymore. Speaking of. Don’t you think we might be a bit too old for this? Fucking in a kit room like horny teenagers? Shouldn’t we just do it in your hotel room like respectable people?“, Leo asked and smoothed Cristiano’s hair out of his face. His lover only looked affronted.

“Querido, I’ll be happy to fuck you in a proper bed when we’re 70 and grey, but right now? Right now, I’ll show _old_ when I fuck you against the wall“, he laughed, and swallowed Leo’s feigned protests with his mouth. His last conscious thought before he lost himself into the pleasure was that if he was 70 and still felt an inch of the love he felt for this ridiculous man right now, there lay 40 very happy years ahead of them.

And when the players and staff going past the room right after the tunnel in the Camp Nou were confused about the unusual sounds coming out of it, well, they just conveniently ignored the muffled screams from a very familiar voice sounding through the walls. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I did say pure crack, didn't I? ;) I just thought James and Neymar deserved a happy ending, too, and I wanted to end this fic on a light note :) Also, Leo and Cris really went full circle with the storage room ;)
> 
> Now that the ride is finally over, after more than 8 months of working on this, thank you again to everybody who read this, especially because you stuck with me until the end! Comments and Kudos are always lovingly drooled upon and every single genuinely one makes me smile :)


End file.
